Timeless
by Chaos Githzerai
Summary: When a Lucario is pitted against Dialga at the Spear Pillar, she learns that such an encounter will change both their lives... Chapter 12 revised.
1. Clash of Steel, Dragon, and Darkness

_Author's Note: To those of you from the Mass Effect fandom who read my works, I'm sorry for this, I really am, but I love Pokémon as much as I love Mass Effect, and I needed a break from my Mass Effect stories for at least a little while. I'll get back to Song of the Rachni eventually, don't worry, I just needed a different change of pace so I chose to write something in a fandom I know more about in order to keep my writing muse from dying on me..._

_I know this may not ever get a single review, but I don't care. Also, some of you may be thinking I'm more than just a little odd to pair Dialga and a Lucario, but this pairing is my PokéPoké OTP, which I call TimeAurashipping, and I wanted to share it and to add something new to the Pokémon section on FFNet. This contains major spoilers for the Diamond and Pearl games, so if you haven't played either and don't like spoilers, please hit the back button on your browser, otherwise, enjoy. Also, even though Dialga is classed as being 'genderless' since he's a Legendary, I see him as being male. This is based off the battle against Dialga from my Diamond game (which is what made me start pairing these two in the first place), and is a complete revamp of the horribly shoddy original write up I did since the battle inspired me that much to write something like this. Also, this takes place a short while after the events in The Rise of Darkrai (with some spoilers from the movie as well), hence references made to the movie in places even though this story is based mostly off the games, and I apologize for Cyrus, Lucus, and Rowan's dialogue not being exactly perfect._

_This mostly centers around the Lucario, Shan, but also around Dialga in some parts, and if people end up actually liking this, I'll turn it into a full story. Also, I wrote that Shan had been born before she had been given away by Riley, hence why she knew and remembers him. I just wanted to point that out beforehand because I'm not very fond of the egg thing concerning mammalian Pokémon like Lucario, it's just a bit ridiculous. I'm also not very good at writing fight scenes, so I don't blame you if you don't like this. Anyway, Shan and her trainer are mine, but the Lucario species along with Dialga, Pokémon, and other characters in this story are all © to that wonderful mastermind Satoshi Tajiri._

_**An updated note for your consideration: This story was started before the release of the eleventh Pokémon movie, so any events parallel to those in the movie are **_**not**_** intentional on my part and are purely a coincidence. Also, I am going to pretend that the 12th movie doesn't exist, because I am NOT happy with what they've decided to do with the three Sinnoh dragons or with what they're doing with Arceus... so Timeless is in NO WAY related to it.**_

_Special thanks go out to my best friend, Ayaluki, the best beta-reader I could ever ask for._

_Well, here we go...

* * *

_

Pokémon

Timeless

Shan stood, her entire form trembling as she fought to make even the tiniest mite of sense out of the unbelievably huge turn this situation had taken. The she-Lucario glared at the pale blue-haired man, wine-red eyes narrowed as she watched him recall his Weavile. Shan sighed and shook her head before her eyes shifted to rest upon the huge dragon who stood at the center of the pillar -- Dialga, the Lord of Time. She knew of Dialga from stories her first trainer, a man named Riley, would tell her back when she was but a tiny Riolu pup, but she had never once thought that she would one day be seeing the dragon with her own eyes...

The poor dragon had unwillingly been dragged into this world by that madman Cyrus with the help of a red chain he had crafted when the three lake spirits had been captured. Cyrus had ordered Dialga to destroy this world, but Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit had intervened, breaking the chain and returning Dialga's free will to him before the three little Pokémon had once again disappeared, though not without Mesprit reappearing in front of Shera for a brief moment before fading once more. Then Cyrus had lost it, sending out his Gyarados to destroy the red-headed girl who had been a thorn in his side for so damned long. Shera's Luxray had easily dealt with Cyrus's Gyarados and Crobat, and Shan had dealt with his Weavile. Now the madman had only one Pokémon left...

"Honchkrow, front and center..."

'_Wait... _Honch_krow?_' Shan blinked, brow furrowing as it took a moment for what she had just heard to sink in. '_When did Cyrus evolve his--_'

"Will you be all right, Shan?" came her trainer's voice, interrupting her thoughts. The Lucario glanced back over her shoulder at the girl, giving a single nod before returning her attention to her new opponent as the dark bird materialized before her, hovering above the ground.

She gave a soft growl, gritting her teeth as she raised a paw to rub her right shoulder, which still ached from where Cyrus's Weavile had struck her with a Brick Break attack. The Honchkrow's expression was solemn as he hovered, awaiting commands, and Shan felt sympathy for him. Most Dark-types were misunderstood - and mistrusted - by both humans and fellow 'mon alike, while a few individuals were good-hearted despite their darkness typing, like Shera's own Honchkrow, Isto. Still a few others, like Weavile, were at the other end of the spectrum altogether, and the Lucario shuddered as she recalled the fierce glee that had shone within the Sharp Claw Pokémon's eyes every time he had managed to score a hit upon her and see her wince in pain. Weavile was what one could classify as evil; Honchkrow, however, was a victim.

Dark-types - heck, _all_ Pokémon - who could be classed as either good or evil shared one thing in common -- they were owned and influenced by humans.

"Steel Wing..." Cyrus commanded, pointing towards the she-Lucario, his face showing next to no expression as the dark bird flapped his wings to gain altitude, before his wings began glowing a light gray color. Shan braced herself, sinking into the half-crouch she had adopted as her battle stance ever since she was little, as she awaited a command from her own trainer.

"Jump, then use Metal Claw," Shera's command came to the Aura Pokémon's ears before Shan leapt straight up into the air, the spike growths upon the backs of her paws beginning to take on the same light gray glow which had enveloped the diving Honchkrow's wings. The light surrounding the Lucario's forepaw spikes then began to change, becoming long, sharp claws before the Lucario slashed upwards at her opponent, growling in frustration when her attack met his own in a deadlock...

Behind the battlers, Dialga drew a slow breath, trying to ignore the pounding headache this whole damned ordeal had given him, and trying to keep his already dangerously high anger from taking him over completely. Ruby-red eyes narrowed and fell upon the human girl and the blue-haired one who had dared to pull him to this world. Oh, how Dialga so badly wanted to rend his claws through that human male's flesh for trying to control him! There were four other humans present, though they were standing farther back away from the fighting: another male who appeared to be about the same age as the girl, if not a bit younger, and yet a third male whose stark white hair told Dialga that that man was nearing venerable age -- if he wasn't there already. The other two were both female, one with red hair while the other had purple, and both had battled the red-haired girl, and at one point, a blonde-haired boy who had up and left afterwards... for some reason or another.

The Temporal Pokémon's gaze then moved to rest upon the two fighting creatures, knowing that the Honchkrow had the advantage against the Lucario when it came to leverage, and he was proven right when the bird's attack broke through, sending the Lucario falling back towards the ground below. The canid flipped, righting herself and landing on all four paws, weight balanced to better absorb the shock of a landing from falling such a distance...

"Dark Pulse," Cyrus commanded. "Make her fear you."

"Honchkrow, stop! This isn't right..." Shan barked as she rose to her feet, wine-red eyes focused intently upon the hovering avian.

"It is the will of my Master," Honchkrow replied, his voice solemn. "So, I must obey." The dark bird gave a single, powerful flap of his wings, sending a wave of dark energy careening towards his opponent. Shan tensed her legs, readying herself to dodge to one side at the last possible second, only to give a yelp of surprise when the wave washed over her sooner than she had expected. She felt as if she were rooted to the spot - frozen - and she felt her entire body trembling uncontrollably. This was the rare, added effect of Dark Pulse -- the cause of fear.

It seemed like eternity before the cold feeling finally left her, and Shan suddenly felt lighter, faster, as she felt her Steadfast ability beginning to kick in. The jackal 'mon shook her head to clear away the cobwebs, not hearing the commands issued by Cyrus nor by her own trainer. Shan's eyes widened when she saw Honchkrow dive toward her again, the Big Boss Pokémon's entire form beginning to spin rapidly in a Drill Peck attack. Shan tensed, ears twitching when she heard Shera call for her to dodge to the right, and the Lucario hadn't even begun to obey when she felt the Drill Peck strike her full force in the chest.

'_He's just too fast...!_' she realized, hearing herself give a cry of pain, feeling something shatter as her legs collapsed out from underneath her, a wave of white-hot pain washing over her. It hurt to draw breath, and Shan raised a trembling forepaw to her chest, feeling blood where the bone-like spike on her chest had been merely a few moments earlier. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she tried to make herself stand, the pain in her chest too great and causing her to collapse to the ground yet again...

Dialga remained silent, watching the battle. The Lucario was nearing the limits her physical form could put her through, and from the way she was laying sprawled upon the ground, the avian's last attack had done some major damage to her. Apparently, the canid was inexperienced when it came to fighting birds, and Dialga knew that such inexperience could lead to her downfall if she didn't force herself to act soon. The dragon felt a pang of guilt, which he quickly crushed, as there was no reason to waste such an emotion on someone mortal, even though he knew that this entire series of events had been his fault -- with that Cyrus human acting as the catalyst...

Shan's eyes fluttered open, and she forced herself to take a deep breath, more tears crawling down her face from the pain. She snarled at the stinging feel of the super potion Shera was administering to her wounds, and, while the spray was usually gentle, this time it felt like it was doing more harm than good. She remembered that they had been unable to return to civilization for supplies, and that Shera was low on medicine, but _anything_ was better than no treatment at all, no matter how meager the dose. It would keep her going... for at least a short while longer.

"Don't... hurts..." the jackal 'mon snapped, reaching up to smack the girl's hand away as she felt the potion beginning to take effect. She growled, climbing to her feet before she turned her head to glance back over her shoulder at her trainer. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Shera reach down to unclip her Pokéball from her belt, and when the human enlarged it, the jackal 'mon moved, quickly smacking the red and white sphere out of Shera's hand. There was _no damn way _she was going to let herself appear weak in front of everyone else anymore - Dialga especially - and she was bound and determined to finish her battle with Honchkrow... no matter what the outcome.

"Shan!" she heard the redhead cry, and saw her move to retrieve the Pokéball from where it now lay on the ground where the Lucario had knocked it from her hand. "What's the matter with you?! You're badly hurt!"

"Don't interfere any more," the canid said before she turned away.

"But--"

"I said don't interfere any more!" Shan snapped, ears slicking back to point towards her trainer, showing that she was still paying attention in case the girl had anything else to say. "This is my fight, and I plan to finish it..."

The only reply was a sigh, and Shan glanced about, searching for her opponent, spotting him once again hovering in front of his own trainer. Well, at least that madman was civil enough to allow a trainer to tend to her wounded Pokémon...

"Now, we can't allow that to happen again, can we? Honchkrow, use Embargo."

... or not.

'_Oh, no, you don't..._' Shan thought, dodging hard to her right to see the black mist hit where she had been standing merely a moment ago. Now wasn't the time to make anymore mistakes.

"Use Aura Sphere," came Shera's command, but Shan could sense the half-hearted tone in her voice, and the jackal 'mon felt terrible for snapping at her when the girl had only been watching out for her own welfare.

Remaining silent, the she-Lucario held her paws close together in front of her chest, her eyes falling closed as she concentrated upon gathering aura for the attack her trainer had issued. She had never been able to conjure an Aura Sphere without having to use both paws, and for some odd reason, there was a stab of pain which accompanied the formation of the attack, one that felt different than the pain of her injuries... as if it were deep inside her. Ignoring it, Shan waited, keeping her eyes closed as she twitched her ears, trying to sense Honchkrow's position by ear.

There was a whoosh of air from above, and the Aura Pokémon's eyes snapped open before she sent the Aura Sphere hurtling upwards towards the diving Honchkrow, whose wings were once again enveloped within that glowing gray light of a Steel Wing attack. She heard the dark bird squawk in surprise at seeing the attack hurtling towards him, and he flapped his wings quickly, the Steel Wing's light fading as he tried to cancel his dive to no avail, a cry of pain leaving him when the sphere struck its mark, hitting him squarely in the chest.

Shan winced when she saw the bird falling through the air, but he managed to recover himself with a few quick flaps of his wings. The last thing she wanted was for Honchkrow to end up seriously injured; it wasn't his fault that he ended up with such a madman for a trainer...

"Drill Peck. Finish her off."

"Rock Climb."

'_Wait... _what_?!_' Shan blinked, wondering if she had pebbles in her ears from when she had been sprawled out on the ground earlier. Did Shera just command her to use... Rock Climb? There was no more time for her to wonder when she saw the 'krow dive at her again, and she leapt hard to her left a second time, feeling the whoosh of air from the bird sailing past her.

"Again," she heard Cyrus command, and, wordlessly, the dark bird obeyed, wings flapping as he banked about, setting himself up for another dive. Shan took a moment to quickly glance about, her gaze falling upon one of the broken pillars... Of course! Now she knew what Shera was wanting her to do! Wasting no time, Shan took off for the fallen pillar which was laying propped up upon the remnants of another pillar which had been long eroded by wind and rain by now. She glanced back, seeing that Honchkrow had taken the bait and was flying after her... and closing the distance between them. Damn Flying-types...

Dialga arched a brow underneath the steel he wore, wondering just what that Lucario was up to and why she was running from her opponent, until he saw her slide underneath the half-fallen pillar. He twitched the tip of his tail in faint amusement at hearing the bird cry out in surprise, wings flapping madly to keep himself from careening into the object. The Honchkrow hovered, glancing about for his opponent, and Dialga heard the sound of paws scrabbling against a hard surface before he saw the jackal 'mon suddenly spring up from the other side of the pillar and launch herself into the air towards the thrice-startled Honchkrow before she delivered her attack in the form of a kick to the bird's side, the force of the blow - and the momentum that had been put behind it - enough to send the 'krow falling to the ground.

'_Why stand there? Lunge! Finish him off!_' he thought, seeing her making no move to attack and finish off the dark avian as he struggled back to his feet, shaking dust from his feathers. It was only when the bird was once again airborne did the jackal 'mon finally make any move, and only then did Dialga remember... '_Hrmph... typical of her kind to show honor even when their opponent does not..._'

"Now, Shan, Force Palm," came Shera's command, and Shan tensed, keeping her attention focused upon Honchkrow as she saw the bird launch himself into yet another dive when Cyrus ordered him to use a Steel Wing attack. She began to concentrate upon gathering aura around her right paw for her Force Palm attack, and again she felt that same stab of pain she had experienced when she had used Aura Sphere, and again she chose to ignore it.

She waited, legs tensing as she kept her attention focused upon the diving avian, and, when he was close enough, she leapt aside, feeling a whoosh of air through her short fur when the bird went sailing past. Wasting no time, Shan pivoted upon one foot, giving Honchkrow no time to react as she lunged, her strike hitting him between the wings and causing him to once again go sprawling across the ground. This time, however, the Big Boss Pokémon didn't rise. Frowning, the jackal 'mon began to go to him, only to stop in her tracks when Cyrus recalled the unconscious bird, a slight frown etching its way onto his pale features... the first time Shan had ever seen that man show _any_ degree of emotion.

"Don't you even _begin_ to think that you have seen the last of me..." the blue-haired man said, hatred apparent in his voice which made Shan growl softly as she kept her gaze upon him when he began to move towards the exit which led back into the bowels of Mt. Coronet. "I _will_ create another Red Chain. I _will_ become a deity..."

'_And Grumpigs will fly,_' Shan thought bitterly as she watched Cyrus rather rudely push his way past Lucas and Professor Rowan, Mars and Jupiter on his heels as the three Galactic members left the Pillar. They were gone, for now at least, and the world was safe from being destroyed; however, there was one more thing to worry about...

A very upset time dragon.

Groaning, Shan fell to her knees, her wounds causing a wave of pain to wash over her, the worst being the wound on her chest. She took a moment to examine the severity of the wound, her jaw clenching when she saw that the bone-like growth was no longer there, her sandy-yellow shirt ripped where it had once been, some of the torn fabric stained pink from her blood. Shan forced herself to look away, and her ears twitched when she heard someone kneeling next to her, but only when she felt a gentle hand upon her shoulder did the jackal 'mon raise her head to see Shera watching her, a worried expression on the girl's face.

"I'll be fine, it's just a scratch..."

"That does _not_ look like 'just a scratch', Shan," the red-headed human replied before she held a bottle of something against the she-Lucario's muzzle. "Here, drink. It's another super potion, but it's all I've got... I'm sorry…"

Wordlessly, Shan accepted the offered potion before she raised it to her lips, forcing herself to quickly drain the nasty-tasting contents before she unceremoniously allowed the now empty bottle to fall to the ground in front of her. She was about to say her thanks when she felt the medicine beginning to take effect, her eyes squeezing shut involuntarily. Though it wouldn't heal her more severe wounds completely, it would help to dull the pain for at least a short while longer.

"From what I've gathered from his body language, Dialga wishes to challenge you, Shera," said Professor Rowan as he and his assistant Lucas approached, both stopping to stand near the girl and her wounded Lucario. "He is in pain from being dragged into our world and wishes for you to help ease his suffering."

"We'll take care of your Lucario, don't worry," Lucas added, moving to kneel beside the Aura Pokémon as he unshouldered his pack. The canid's eyes followed his movements as she watched the boy remove a fresh roll of bandages. She set her jaw when Lucas began to dress her chest wound, a small grunt of pain leaving her from the slight amount of pressure caused by the wrappings. "There, good as new.. though that'll probably scar when it heals," he said when he was done, and Shan gave a single nod of thanks when she felt him give the steel ring which covered part of her left shoulder a gentle pat.

Gritting her teeth, the she-Lucario rose to her feet before she moved to sit down close to one of the pillars that were still standing, resting her back against it as she watched the red-headed girl approach the god of time. Shan flattened her ears when the dragon threw his head back, a screeching roar leaving him as he lashed his tail back and forth. She saw her trainer unclip a silvery premier ball from her belt before Shera tossed it into the air, calling out "River!" before the red beam materialized into a large green and blue Gastrodon.

"Ice Beam."

Shan clenched her jaw, knowing that River wasn't exactly the quickest of Shera's Pokémon, but she knew that the sea slug was able to take a beating. Even so, Shan couldn't help but wonder if stamina would be of any help in _this_ situation. Her eyes widened when she saw the sail-like structure on Dialga's back increase in size, the blue diamond embedded within his chest plate beginning to glow before the draconic beast suddenly exhaled a beam of energy towards the Eastern Gastrodon, who had in turn exhaled a thin beam of ice. Despite its appearance, Ice Beam was a powerful attack, but against the lapis lazuli beam of whatever attack Dialga had unleashed, it stood absolutely no chance of getting through...

Dialga stood, remaining quiet as his Roar of Time easily overtook the Ice Beam attack that the sea slug had fired at him, shattering it as if it were nothing more than a fragile strand of crystal. The Gastrodon gave no cry of pain when the lapis lazuli beam struck her, merely losing her balance and falling to her side, unconscious. He heard the girl cry what must have been the Gastrodon's name before she used that same silvery sphere of hers to recall the creature. Was this the best she could do? He saw movement from the corner of his eye, and he turned his head to see that Lucario climb to her feet before she rushed forward, reaching out with a paw to stop the human from calling whatever Pokémon resided within the red and white sphere she had unclipped from her belt...

"Shan, seriously, _what_ has gotten into you?"

"Do you honestly think Zaratan can withstand Dialga's attacks, Shera?" Shan asked, her wine-red gaze boring into her trainer's own green eyes. "River couldn't, and she's usually able to withstand anything thrown at her. I want to face Dialga. I don't _care_ that I'm hurt. I just don't want him hurting Zaratan or any of the others like how he hurt River."

The girl sighed, but remained silent before she slowly and hesitantly clipped her Torterra's Pokéball back onto her belt.

"Shera, please. I'm sorry I snapped at you when you tried to help me during my fight against Honchkrow, but this is something I _want_ to do."

"... Fine. I really don't want you fighting him, but if you absolutely have to... go ahead," the girl said with a sigh. "Just... just be careful, all right?"

Shan nodded once before she turned her head to rest her gaze upon the time dragon, keeping her head held high as she strode forward. Her eyes swept over him, taking in every detail. He was quite pleasing to look at; then again, Shan had always had a soft spot for dragons -- a secret she would never admit to another living soul. She swallowed hard when their eyes met, wine-red upon glowing ruby, and she couldn't help but feel so terribly humbled next to this creature... this god-like Pokémon...

He was so beautiful...

"You are injured." Shan jerked when she heard him speak, the suddenness of hearing his voice taking her by complete surprise. "But do not even _begin_ to think that I will show you any mercy, little Lucario. Do you honestly believe that you will be able to right the wrong which I have been forced into?"

"I don't believe that I can, no," Shan replied, her voice trembling in spite of her best efforts to control it, "but I'm going to try my best." '_Without hurting you... hopefully..._' she added silently to herself.

'_Your 'best' will not be good enough, especially with such an injury.._' Dialga thought to himself, eyes narrowing when he saw the she-Lucario dip her head in a slight bow. '_And save your honor for someone who actually cares._'

"Then your test begins," the Temporal Pokémon said, eyes flashing ruby as several large boulders coalesced into existence around him in an attack known as Ancientpower. He jerked his head towards the little Pokémon, sending the boulders hurtling through the air towards her, giving her no time to think without having to react first. "Now."...

Gripping the Quick Claw she wore around her neck, Shan raced forward, nimbly dodging around two of the boulders before she was smacked by one that had come at her beyond the range of her peripheral vision, giving a yelp of pain as she felt herself knocked off her feet and backwards through the air. She flipped, righting herself and recovering her balance, barely able to hold back a second yelp of pain as she landed in a half-crouch, one forepaw on the ground to help her maintain her balance, grateful for the second super potion that Shera had given her after her battle with Honchkrow. Wasting no time, she forced herself to act, kicking up dust and pebbles as she leapt into the air towards the time dragon.

"Shan," Shera's voice came to the canid's ears. "Use Aura Sphere!"

Again, Shan felt a stab of pain as she focused upon channeling aura between the palms of her paws, waiting until she was at the height of her jump before she sent the orb hurtling towards Dialga, aiming for his right shoulder just behind the protective plate upon his chest. She wrinkled her nose, seeing that this Aura Sphere was a bit faint in appearance, but she dismissed it, thinking that it was because of her tiredness. The Aura Pokémon grunted when she landed, her injuries from her earlier battles and from the Ancientpower attack causing her to falter and fall to one knee as she raised a forepaw to rub her right shoulder...

Dialga snarled when the Aura Sphere struck him in the shoulder, a stinging blow that hurt no worse than his own sibling's version of the attack. It was going to take _much_ more than one measly Aura Sphere to even come close to hurting him. Seeing that she was close to him, Dialga reared back onto his hind legs before he slashed down with a taloned forepaw in a Metal Claw attack, a smirk appearing when he felt his claws connecting with their target; however, said smirk quickly faded when he felt that they were raking against what felt like metal, and he saw that she had taken the brunt of the attack against the ring that encircled most of her left shoulder. The dragon gritted his teeth, angry at himself for forgetting that Lucarios were dual Fighting/Steel types, even though they hardly looked like it. She was putting up quite a fight for having been in two battles before this one, but Dialga couldn't help but wonder just _what_ in Arceus's name this Lucario was _thinking_ challenging _him_ with hardly any rest. Not that he cared or anything, but it was pretty crazy...

Shan drew a deep breath through clenched teeth before she slowly exhaled, moving slowly to gather her legs underneath herself in preparation to spring away more quickly and easily if Dialga dared to try to swipe at her again. The effects of the super potions were beginning to wear off, the fiery pain of her injuries beginning to return. The canid forced herself to stand, her form swaying dangerously to one side before she managed to regain her balance. Giving a soft whimper of pain, the she-Lucario raised a paw to briefly touch her bandaged chest, checking to see if the wound had begun bleeding again or not, but she couldn't tell for certain... not yet, at least.

'_Always look before you leap, Shan,_' Riley's words echoed within her mind, '_and _never_ go rushing headlong into a fight without first pausing to think of the consequences._'

'_You're an idiot, Shan. A damn idiot..._' she scolded herself silently, having failed to remember and heed both of those warnings, and now here she was, badly injured and in battle with a freaking _deity_, and for a fleeting moment, she wished that Dialga would just get it over with and kill her for making such a stupid, _stupid_ choice. Her ears twitched, hearing the dragon moving to attack her again, and the Aura Pokémon forced herself to dodge hard to one side, hearing the dragon give a snarl of frustration. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing the orangish glow surrounding Dialga's claws beginning to fade... Dragon Claw... He had tried to hit her with Dragon Claw, and, though her Steel sub-typing made her strong against such an attack, Shan knew that she wasn't in any condition to allow another of his attacks to hit her.

She groaned in spite of herself, eyes squeezing shut as she fell to one knee, her breath beginning to come in quick, ragged gasps... and Dialga hardly had a scratch on him. Shan raised her head at the sound of her trainer's voice coming to her ears, commanding her to use a Force Palm attack. Gritting her teeth, the canid forced herself to stand before she leapt into the air towards the temporal dragon, ignoring the pain as she focused upon gathering aura energy around her right paw before she felt herself land upon the same shoulder that her Aura Sphere had struck earlier. Wasting no time, she delivered her Force Palm attack to the same area before she leapt away, hearing Dialga's jaws snapping together just seconds after and knowing that had she been even _one_ second too late, the dragon would have caught her...

Dialga hissed when he felt his teeth meet nothing but empty air, hearing that human girl scream her Lucario's name. A snack would have been nice after having been dragged out of his own dimension and into this one; then again, Lucarios probably didn't taste that good anyway. Holding back a roar of frustration, he concentrated, preparing to unleash his Roar of Time. Enough was enough, he was _through_ playing around with this jackal 'mon... until he felt a jolt of pain lance through him, causing him to snarl and grit his teeth. The time dragon shook his head, once again preparing his attack, only to be stopped when he realized that _he wasn't able to move_. Wait... what?! _How_ could this have happened to him?! Then he realized... that Lucario's last attack.

"What did you _do_ to me, you little..." he snarled, his sentence cut off when another stab of pain caused him to clench his teeth and growl.

"Force Palm..." she replied, remaining still as she watched him, despite the fact that her entire body was trembling from lack of much-needed rest. "It has a chance to paralyze an opponent when it hits..."

'_Bah!_' he thought angrily, not noticing that the girl had tossed something in his direction until he felt something tap him lightly on the side of the neck. There was a red light before Dialga felt himself being pulled into blackness. Red... no... _NO_... he would _not_ allow himself to be controlled again...! He struggled against the pull, giving a screech of rage as he felt the... _thing_... free him. He glanced down, seeing that it was one of those damned spheres, but this one was black and yellow in coloration. Curling his upper lip, Dialga raised a clawed forepaw before he brought it down hard, the sound of the sphere crunching underneath his forepaw music to his ears.

He had been too preoccupied in destroying the thing to notice that the girl had tossed _yet_ _another one_ at him until he felt a second light tap, this time against his chest plate, along with a more purplish-black beam of light, before he was once again pulled into darkness. Again, Dialga tried to struggle and fight the pull, but he felt a wave of pain from that damn, damn, _damn_ paralysis wash over him, keeping his body from obeying his mind's commands. With a sigh, the draconic Pokémon closed his eyes, giving in to the hold. If this was punishment for him fighting with his sister and nearly destroying that human dwelling place in the process, then... so be it. Before he slipped into unconsciousness, Dialga allowed himself one final thought:

'_You win... ... ... Shan._'...

The Lucario shook her head, trying to keep her vision from blurring again as she kept her attention focused upon the Dusk Ball which was now on the ground, rocking back and forth until the center flashed green, and the sphere fell still, signaling that the catch was a success. Ignoring the pain of her injured, tired body, Shan moved to crouch before the sphere which now contained the beautiful dragon, before she moved to grasp it firmly within a paw.

"I'm sorry, Lord Dialga. I hope that someday you'll find it in your heart to forgive us for doing this," she whispered, holding the Dusk Ball against her chest for a long moment, her eyes closing. With a long, drawn-out sigh, Shan slowly rose to her feet, the sphere containing Dialga still grasped firmly in her paw, before she moved to rejoin her trainer and the other two humans near the Spear Pillar's exit.


	2. It's Called Respect

_Author's Note: I had a feeling that I wouldn't get many reviews, but four is far better than what I thought I'd get, so a big thank you to the four of you who reviewed! It means a lot to me! All the hits made me happy even if some of you only read the author's note and hit back on your browsers. I completely understand if my PokéPoké OTP put some of you off since it is pretty out-of-the-box, but I love it. Even though the sub-genre is romance, that won't be happening till much later (depending on how many chapters this ends up being) because I'm going to take the relationship between Dialga and Shan slowly since Dialga's not exactly the nicest 'mon out there, and he can be pretty stubborn. _

_To those of you who thought that Shan had too much endurance in the last chapter, don't worry, in a few chapters, she's going to get what's coming to her for pushing herself over the limit like she did, trust me. I have a bad habit of taking my characters to Hell and back... figuratively speaking of course! I see the Lucario species as being more lasting than other fighters due to their Steel sub-typing, and I also see them having an iron will and pushing themselves to extremes in order to accomplish something they've set their minds on. To me, they're pretty much in a 'do what you have to do' mindset. Also, I attempted to write Riley in a short flashback Shan has at the end of this chapter, and I apologize if I got his character wrong at all._

_This chapter was an absolute bitch and a half to finish, so I pretty much had to force it out before what I had planned to write was lost forever. _

_Again, Pokémon is © to that wonderful mastermind, Satoshi Tajiri, but Shan and her trainer are mine._

* * *

_Dialga slowly opened his eyes, remembering the past events before he had been pulled into... _darkness_... Suppressing a growl, the time dragon shut his eyes again before he shifted slightly, readjusting himself. He felt considerably lighter, and felt nothingness underneath where he lay. Bright light then shone, faint at first before becoming brighter, to the point to where he could see it even behind his eyelids. Baring his teeth, Dialga opened his eyes before he raised his head, blinking a few times as he glanced about._

'_'_Where... am I...?'

_"Do you not remember where you were born, Dialga?" came a voice that seemed to come from nowhere, yet, at the same time, from everywhere. It was then that the draconic Pokémon remembered..._

'Arceus...'_ Dialga thought, remembering that he was within the Hall of Origin, the home of the Original One himself._

_"Of course I remember!" he snapped irritably, tail lashing back and forth. A sigh echoed throughout the area before a sound that could best be described as the ringing of small golden bells came to Dialga's ears. The dragon lowered his head, his gaze falling to settle upon the transparent floor beneath his metallic claws. In a way, Arceus was his father, as Palkia was his sister. "... Apologies, Great One."_

_"Rise, Time Keeper."_

_The Temporal Pokémon did as he was bidden, slowly raising his head, ruby-red gaze falling upon a creature one could best describe as equine. _

_The being stood upon four slender legs, each ending in a golden hoof which tapered to a dull point. His sleek body was covered in a coat of short, silvery-white fur, said fur longer and thicker around his neck, at his shoulders and hips, and upon his legs above his hooves. Part of his face and his underside, including the underside of his short tail, were dark gray in color, a deep contrast to the silvery-white fur which covered the majority of his form. Around his middle was a golden plate which was semi round on both halves, resembling a wheel of sorts with short points near the top and bottom, and elliptical emeralds set into four places._

_Rather than the head of any kind of equine, the head of this creature resembled a mask more than anything, as he lacked a muzzle of any length. His eyes were large with small, vertically-slit pupils of brownish-orange, and glowing, green markings accented his eyes, before said markings trailed down to the sides of his face, each forming a sideways tear shape. A long, flowing mane swept out from the back of his head, the underside of it dark gray while the top was silvery-white, and a short blaze of gold marked his forehead between a pair of semi-long, pointed ears._

_This creature was Arceus, the Alpha Pokémon._

_"Why have you brought me here this time, Father?" Dialga asked, fighting to keep his temper in check. "I told her I was sorry, but apparently, in your eyes, sorry was not good enough, was it? How could you allow one human to pull me to that world of theirs, and then another to... ... _enslave_ me? It was not my fault that Palkia fled to that world and pulled those humans and their dwelling place back into our dimension with her."_

_"But it was you who started the quarrel, Dialga," Arceus replied gently, though there was an underlying sternness within his voice. "And you know it. I chose to allow it because I feel that this will teach you a lesson."_

_"What do you mean 'teach me a lesson'?" Dialga spat, beginning to pace back and forth. "Palkia should receive a similar punishment, should she not?"_

_"Palkia has already served her punishment, my son," Arceus said, watching the dragon. "She cleaned up the mess which your quarrel with her caused... while you merely turned tail and left."_

'It is _not _'my' quarrel, even if I was the one who started it...' _Dialga thought angrily as he waited for the qilin 'mon to answer his first question, and he continued to pace back and forth impatiently._

_"Your capture is to be a form of exile," Arceus began to explain, continuing even when his son spun about to face him, teeth bared. "Until you learn to curb that temper of yours, you shall remain under that human child's command -- even if she chooses to set you free, and though you will still have access to your time powers, you will _only_ be able to use them in order to lend aid to others and _never_ for your own personal gain. Also, you will be granted _one_ alternate form which you may assume at will and none more. Choose wisely, for you will be unable to change your decision once it has been made. I do not like doing this, but your behavior as of late has been _appalling_..."_

_"Exile..." Dialga snarled, eyes narrowing to nothing but ruby-red slits. "I cannot believe you are allowing this... It is that damned Lucario's fault that this happened to me! If not for her, I would not have been captured!"_

_"No," Arceus shook his head. "It is no one's fault but your own, and for that outburst, a Lucario form is what you shall have."_

_"I would rather be condemned to taking the form of a Magikarp than to that of a Fighting-type!"_

_"_You_ chose the form with that outburst of yours, not I. It is not that Lucario's fault for what you have done," said the creature as he began to fade. "Dialga, awaken..."_

Eterna City Pokémon Center -- Western Side

The time dragon's eyes flew open, and he quickly raised his head, a gasp leaving him. Blinking to adjust his eyes to the light, which was far fainter than the light in the Hall of Origin had been, Dialga slowly glanced about his surroundings, and he frowned when he saw that he was inside what appeared to be a human dwelling. Though the room was quite large, Dialga still felt trapped... _confined_... Well, at least he wasn't paralyzed any more...

Voicing a soft growl, the dragon turned his head to gaze outside. A large part of the back of the room appeared to be made completely of nothing, and Dialga noticed that even though the trees and few bushes outside were being touched by a gentle breeze, he couldn't feel it. Brow furrowing, the time dragon rose to his feet before he moved closer to this end of the room, his gaze focused upon the area which had piqued his curiosity. He exhaled sharply, only to blink and tilt his head to one side when he saw that his breath had condensed upon what appeared to be some kind of transparent surface, remaining visible only for a few seconds before disappearing.

'_How very peculiar..._'

Something beyond caught his eye, and Dialga's ruby gaze fell upon... something that looked like him? Not far from it was something that looked like his sister, Palkia. Both figures remained stationary, and appeared to have been carved from brownish-gray stone.

'_Ugh!_' he thought, baring his teeth in complete revulsion. '_A _terrible_ likeness..._'

Casting one last look of disgust at the two figures, Dialga occupied himself with watching a group of Starlys pecking about close to a rather scraggly looking bush. '_I wonder..._' he thought before he began to concentrate upon stopping time. It was a simple parlor trick for him, but, after a minute, he saw that the little birds were still moving. Nothing else was happening either, and it was beginning to give him a headache.

'_So it was not a dream..._' he thought, sighing and taking a few steps back before he slowly lay down once again, lowering his head to rest it upon his forepaws._ 'Arceus really _did_ condemn me to exile..._'

Eterna City Pokémon Center -- Eastern Side

"Psst! Shan. Hey, Shan, wake up. You've been asleep since last night and all day today."

"Mm...?" The pale gray Lucario raised a forepaw, trying to swat at whatever was prodding her in the side. "Leave me alone... didn't eat the chocolate... can't stand the stuff... Hunh...?"

The she-jackal's eyes opened, her vision bleary for a moment before it slowly began coming into focus. "Isto...?" she asked, her gaze sweeping over the dark bird, realizing that it was indeed her friend, noting the shorter, beard-like chest feathers, which were the only difference between male and female Honchkrows by glance. "Where are we? Where's... where's River? And Dialga?"

"Yup," the 'krow cawed, fluffing her white chest feathers proudly. "The One and Only. As for where we're at, we're back home in Eterna City, at the Pokémon Center, and River's going to be fine, though she'll need to be kept overnight. She's in one of the healing tanks a few rooms down. As for Dialga, last I saw, he was being kept in one of the rooms built for 'mon of his stature on the other side of this place. Quite a rude one, he is. He wouldn't even let Joy get close to him to see if he was injured or not. Swiped at her even, so she had to wait till he was asleep."

"I was afraid of that," Shan said, holding back a sigh as she shook her head. "As long as they were both unhurt."

"Naw, they're both fine. He only had a few minor injuries, and a case of paralysis. Shera sent me to come keep track of you, though, since you were in a far worse state. _Three _battles in a row? Why, Shan? Why did you challenge _Dialga_ when you were so badly hurt? Shera told me you passed out afterwards and that she had to recall you to your Pokéball."

"I didn't want him to hurt anybody else the way he hurt River. A one-hit knock-out, Isto. _Nobody_ has _ever_ done that to River before... I just couldn't sit idly by and do nothing."

"Even so..." the bird said, hopping closer to her teammate before she unfurled a wing and used the longest feather near the trailing edge like a finger, pointing it at Shan like how a parent would scold a misbehaving child. "Don't you _dare_ do something so stupid again. What if he would've _killed_ you? Then I'd be short one best friend."

"Don't worry, Isto," Shan said, giving her friend a small smile before she slowly sat up, gritting her teeth in annoyance from the stiffness she felt all over.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just stiff... and sore all over," the canid replied as she moved to swing her legs over the side of the bed, causing the dark bird to squawk and flutter up into the air to avoid being kicked. "Sorry."

"Well, warn me next time," Isto said crossly as she landed upon the nearby table.

Shan only nodded, showing that she heard the 'krow's complaint, before the Lucario slowly rose to her feet, a grimace twisting her features due to the discomfort her body was experiencing after having been in a single position for so long. The canid raised her arms over her head, a wide yawn gripping her as she stretched before she took a few slow, careful steps, testing her still stiff legs to see if they wanted to support her yet or not. Fortunately for her, they did.

"I'll go tell Shera you're awake so we can go back home," Isto said, fluttering up into the air to follow the Lucario. "It's getting late and her mother should have dinner ready by the time we get there."

"I'm not really that hungry," Shan replied, moving to push the door open. "I'm going to ask and see if I can stay here with River, so she won't have to spend the night alone."

"What?" the 'krow cawed, nearly flying into the now open door. "I can understand your concern about River, but missing dinner? Oh, right, you Fighting-types don't like eating that much so you can stay fit and healthy. Sheesh."

"At least my kind don't order our pre-evolved form to bring us food while we sit around and do nothing all day," Shan shot back, though not without a hint of a smirk playing across her lips. "I can just grab something from the lobby before Joy closes it for the night."

"Hey! I'm not wild, and if I was, I wouldn't do that! ... maybe. Okay, okay, I would, but that's not the point!"

"Then what is?"

"The point is your own safety, Shan," Isto said, hovering a few feet away from the Lucario as Shan moved to close the door. "If I'm correct about your motives, and I usually am, I know you're going to use this time to try and talk to that walking scrap pile--"

"Don't call him that!" the jackal 'mon snapped, rounding on the avian, wine-red eyes narrowing. "It's not Dialga's fault for what happened back there at the Spear Pillar and you know it."

"No, but it _is_ his fault for his own actions, and _you_ know it."

"... Must you blame him, though, Isto? He's scared. He's not used to being around humans like we are."

"Scared? Ha!" The Honchkrow fiddled with the rim of her fedora, though she had to flap her wings quickly to keep herself from crashing to the floor. "If you call trying to rend Nurse Joy in half 'scared', I'd hate to see that dragon when he's _angry_. Anyway, I'm off; just be careful, okay? I won't be happy tomorrow if I hear that Dialga did something horrible to you."

"I'll be careful, don't worry. I'll see you all again tomorrow, okay?" Shan replied, giving the bird a reassuring smile and a wave before she turned and disappeared down one of the adjacent halls. Isto hovered there, staring after her friend for a few moments, before the bird shook her head and sighed.

"You _never_ listen, Shan. I'm afraid that one day you'll tango with the wrong 'mon and get yourself killed..."

* * *

The pale gray Lucario remained silent as she continued down the hall at a slow pace in order to work the stiffness out of her muscles. When she neared the Intensive Care room, however, Shan quickened her pace, keeping her gaze averted from the large windows which allowed one to look in at all of the machinery built to keep Pokémon who were either critically ill or injured alive. That part of the Center unnerved her, and with good reason... one that she didn't wish to think about.

She was so preoccupied with getting past that room that she nearly ran into Nurse Joy, who had been moving down the hall in the opposite direction, carrying a box full of potions.

"Shan?" the pink-haired woman asked, having to quickly sidestep to keep from running into the Lucario. "What's wrong?"

"Huh...? Oh!" Shan stopped in her tracks, turning to face the human before she dipped the upper half of her body forward in a bow. "Nurse Joy! I-I'm sorry, I didn't see you… I was out looking for you to... um... W-would it be any trouble if I could have permission to check up on Dialga? I need to tell him that I'm sorry, and I wish to stay here for the night if that's all right with you? I don't want to leave River alone while she recovers."

"I don't mind at all about wanting to keep River company until tomorrow, but Dialga is another matter. He's not exactly very social, and someone like him doesn't belong here," Joy said, readjusting the box she was holding. "But I'll allow you to see him as long as you're careful, he's staying in the room behind the second door on your left from the main hall, and I'll let Shera know that you won't be going home with her tonight."

'_Why is everyone telling me to be careful around Dialga? First Isto and now Nurse Joy. It's not like I'm looking to have a rematch with him or anything. Far from it..._' Shan thought irritably, but she kept the comment to herself before she dipped her head in a gesture of politeness, giving a murmur of thanks before she continued on, making her way to the left side of the large building.

When she came to the room Joy told her about, the Lucario paused, her tail giving a few wags of anxiety. It wasn't that Shan was afraid of Dialga, far from it, she was just nervous about making herself look like a fool in front of him if she were to say the wrong things. Heaving a sigh, she raised a paw to fix the forelock of long fur that always fell between her eyes before she moved to slowly push the door open...

* * *

"I thought I already made it clear that _I do not need your help_, human," the time dragon growled, raising his head before he turned his attention to the sound of that so-called 'door' opening; however, it wasn't that pink-haired human he saw standing there. Dialga narrowed his eyes as he rose to his feet, turning to face the gray-furred Lucario as she moved to close the door behind her. "_You._ I should have known..."

He saw her hesitate and take a small step back, but the canid retained her composure before she cleared her throat and spoke: "I was given permission to come and check up on you, and I also wanted to apologize for what happened to you back there at Mt. Coronet."

"Apologize? So, you seek forgiveness.." The Temporal Pokémon's brow furrowed underneath the steel he wore. "You have a lot of courage coming to me after what occurred back there, little Lucario."

"I..." She trailed off, glancing down at the floor before she took a deep breath, holding it in for a moment before she exhaled and raised her head, her wine-red eyes meeting his. "I was worried about you..."

"Worried," Dialga repeated, the tip of his tail twitching as he moved to sit down, curling the appendage around his feet. "About me."

"Yeah. What's wrong with that?"

"I admit that I do not understand _why _you are acting like this when _you_ were the one who defeated _me_ back at the Spear Pillar. Why care about someone you have bested in battle?"

"Why do I care?" The Aura Pokémon arched a brow. "Because I _can_, that's why. It's called 'respect', Lord Dialga. I'm _not_ going to look down upon you like you were an inferior just because I beat you. That's not what I was taught, and it's just silly. I was taught to respect my opponents, _especially_ if I defeat them, and not to just leave them by the wayside. You're no different, mortal, immortal, Legend or not. We're _all _equal, no matter who or what we are."

"Equal." Dialga gave vent to a low, rumbling chuckle. "I could so easily crush you, little Lucario. You were very lucky that attack of yours paralyzed me back there at the Pillar, otherwise _I_ would have been the victor, not you."

"Hey, now," the pale she-Lucario admonished, holding up a forepaw. "There's absolutely no reason for you to remain so antagonistic towards us... We only want to help you, and I'm not here looking for another fight with you. And my name is _Shan_, not 'little Lucario'."

There was no warning, and with but two strides Dialga had surged up to the Lucario, his face mere inches from her own as she stood with her back against the still closed door. Though she maintained eye contact with him, he saw that she was trembling.

"You are in _no_ position to tell me what to do or what to call you, _little Lucario_," he hissed, ruby-red eyes burning into her. "Consider yourself lucky that I no longer wish to snap you up as an appetizer. You wish to show me respect? Then leave me alone."

"Fine, then," the jackal 'mon replied, her voice trembling as she fought the tears that were stinging at the corners of her eyes. "I'll leave you alone because you asked me to, but know this: I looked up to you when I was younger, and I always will look up to you even though you turned out to be far different than who I grew up thinking you were."

"And what do you mean by those words, exactly?" he demanded, his breath hot against her face. She blanched, her fur becoming more pale than it already was, a few tears escaping to crawl down her cheeks. "Out with it!"

"... When I was a Riolu, my first trainer used to tell me stories about you and the others who are all known as 'Legends'." Her voice was soft and on the verge of breaking. "I saw you as a _hero_. You were my favorite; I looked up to you and I wanted to be strong... like you. You don't understand how disappointed I am to find out that you're so different from how the stories portrayed you. You don't know how much it _hurts_, but I absolutely refuse to believe this is who you truly are..." She gave vent to a long, drawn-out sigh before she raised a forepaw to brush more tears away from her eyes. "You told me to leave you alone, so that is what I'm going to do until you say otherwise. Good day, Lord Dialga."

The dragon merely stood there, dumbfounded and unable to come up with a reply worthy to counter all she had just now told him. As he watched, the she-Lucario dipped her head before she moved to slip out the door and back into the hall beyond. For a long moment, he just stared at the spot where she had stood, turning her words over in his mind. For a moment, he thought he had seen his own sister staring back at him... with the same degree of devastation upon her face he had seen back when he had broken one of her pearls...

'_Do not be ridiculous,_' he scolded himself, sneering and turning away from the door before he moved to curl up near the back of the room, his head resting upon his forepaws. '_That Lucario is _not_ Palkia. She is just what she is: a Lucario and nothing else. She _deserved_ the pain she received just now for what she did to you back at the Spear Pillar... did she not?_'

He had succeeded in getting the blasted jackal 'mon to leave him alone, perhaps even for the duration of his exile, but why did he feel terrible? He should be glad! She was the reason why he was in this position, and she had the _nerve_ to try and be _nice_ to him? It made no sense!

"So confused..." he whispered, closing his eyes as he tried to go back to sleep.

* * *

Though her stomach was telling her about its hunger, due to a lack of appetite Shan didn't bother stopping by the Center's lobby for even a light snack to help see her through the night. Dialga's words had cut her to the bone, and it would be a wound that would ache for a while to come. Wordlessly, the she-Lucario made her way to the area of the Center where Water-types were kept overnight, taking care to keep herself quiet as she slipped into the room. As she suspected, River was asleep, and Shan knew that the Eastern Gastrodon had quite a temper and hated to be roused from sleep prematurely.

Holding back a sigh, the canid settled down against the wall close to River's tank, her head in her forepaws as she stared miserably at the tiled floor...

_"Could you read the story about Dialga to me again, Papa? Please?" the small, gray Riolu asked, keeping her wide-eyed gaze upon the man clad mostly in blue who sat beside her._

_"Again? But I just finished," Riley said as he carefully turned a page in a large book, which had no words on either the cover or binding, and appeared to be fairly old. "But I suppose it wouldn't hurt for me to let you look at the pictures again," he added, unable to help but smile when the pup gave a bark of delight and clambered into his lap._

_"Out of all the Legends, I thought Dialga would scare you," Riley continued, carefully turning a few more pages before stopping on one which had a picture of the time dragon standing upon a cliff, head thrown back, his jaws parted in a roar. "But you like him, don't you, Shan?"_

_"Uh-huh!" Shan replied, gasping softly as she gazed down at the image. "He's brave and strong, and I hope to be like him someday."..._

"But that's not going to happen any time soon, is it, Dialga..." Shan whispered, gritting her teeth as she squeezed her eyes shut, forcing the memory back into the darker recesses of her mind. "I understand that you're furious at us for capturing you, but we did so to save you... to save _everyone_... I wish that _you_ would understand that I will _never_ stop believing in you no matter how you treat me..."

* * *

_**Qilin**_ -- (Japanese _Kirin_) A mythical creature in stories from the Orient said to be a good omen whose appearance is said to herald the arrival of a great sage.


	3. The Dragon In Jackal's Clothing

_Author's Note: Chapter three is usually where my muse absolutely loves to die on me and refuse to be reserrected even with promises of chocolate. But I'm not going to let that happen this time. I'm a bit nervous posting this chapter because of the very beginning, but it's something I see Arceus doing. Palkia makes her debut in this chapter, and though she won't be mentioned very much for now, she'll become a major factor in this story later. Man, Dialga's transformation into his Lucario form was a real pain to write and Shera finally gets a decent description. I'll give Shan one too... one of these chapters. And I apologize for the rather skeletal-looking ending, but not much was really needed aside from the conversation there. See? Not all of my author's notes are long ramble fests!_

_This chapter is dedicated to Nefertili, for she is the one who helped me give Palkia the chance she so deserves, and special thanks goes out to my best friend, Ayaluki, the best beta reader I could ever ask for. _

_As always, Pokémon is © to that wonderful mastermind, Satoshi Tajiri._

* * *

"You... you did WHAT?!"

Palkia merely stood there, mouth agape as she stared at her father, her ruby-red gaze meeting the qilin 'mon's own brownish-orange eyes.

"I understand that you are upset, but it is for his own good," Arceus said, his voice gentle despite his serious expression. "Your brother's temper endangered not only your own life, but the lives of _every_ innocent that had been trapped within that human dwelling place. It was only fair that he be dealt a punishment--"

"Fair?! Father, you are endangering _Dialga's_ life by allowing this to happen!" Palkia cried, her ivory wings raising to flutter a few times before they once again folded close to her back. "How could you let some _human_ do this to him?! He is your _son_! If you think that this is fair, then punish me too! Send me down there with him!"

"I cannot," Arceus replied solemnly, lowering his head a bit. "I am sorry, Palkia."

"No." The Spatial Pokémon shook her head, her gaze falling to rest upon the transparent floor of the Hall of Origin. "You are not. You _have_ the power to send me to this 'Sinnoh' and you know it. Dialga is my brother, he needs me... he cannot face this on his own..."

"That is where you are wrong, my daughter," Arceus replied, moving forward upon hooves which made the Hall echo with the sound of small, golden bells. He inclined his head to give the bipedal dragon a comforting nuzzle before he took a step back. The equine exhaled softly, a breath of silvery mist escaping from his unseen mouth before it began to swirl, forming an elliptical shape. The green markings upon his face, along with the four emeralds set into the plate at his back, flashed once, the misty ellipse beginning to take on a faint glow of the same color before the surface rippled like liquid mercury, an image appearing. "Look."

Palkia blinked and raised her head, tilting it to one side before she peered down into the image, seeing that it was the Spear Pillar -- the very heart of the Sinnoh region. The water dragon's brow furrowed, ruby-red gaze focused intently upon the two small figures who had appeared at the Pillar...

Spear Pillar, The Heart of Sinnoh

Shan felt her entire form shiver when a chill wind whipped up, causing her clothing to ripple and the four aura sensors at the back of her head to be whipped about slightly before once again falling against the back of her neck and shoulders. The front of her shirt had been stitched closed during her time back at Eterna City's Pokémon Center in order to keep the wound underneath protected while it healed. Shan was actually glad that the spike-like growth of bone that had once been there was now gone; all the damn thing ever did was get in her way. Even so, she had developed a habit of touching one of her paws to it whenever she would tap into her aura-sensing abilities, but holding a paw over her chest would be somewhat the same... maybe.

But why had the Aura Sphere she had used against Dialga the day before been faint in appearance? And why did it hurt her to use it and Force Palm? The Lucario female gave a start when she felt a touch on the top of her head between her ears, but she relaxed when she saw that it had only been her trainer.

Shera Garland's long, copper-colored hair was tied back in a loose braid that often found a way to drape over one of her shoulders before being pushed behind her back again, a few loose bangs falling over her green eyes. She wore a denim jacket over a dark violet t-shirt with a pair of tan cargo pants, a pair of black fingerless gloves, and an old pair of white and gray sneakers. On the back of the jacket was a Rapidash rearing up on its hind legs along with the words 'All Fired Up!' printed below it in fiery, dark orange letters. Around her waist, she wore a simple belt which had six depressions where her team's Pokéballs were kept, though only three of the said spheres were the standard red and white variety. Among them were River's silver premier ball and two green and orange dusk balls, one of which currently contained Dialga. A moderately large rucksack was slung over one shoulder, the place where Shera kept things essential for her journey, which was halted for the time being.

As Shan watched, the human reached down with a gloved hand to unclip Dialga's dusk ball from where it currently hung upon her belt, giving vent to a heavy sigh as she gazed down at the device.

"Joy's right, you know," Shera said softly. "Someone like you doesn't belong here in Sinnoh, and it would be wrong for me to force you to stay here against your will. That Cyrus bastard shouldn't be bothering you again any time soon, so I'm going to do the right thing..."

With a grunt, the fifteen-year-old girl tossed the dark colored sphere into the air. At the arc of the throw, the dusk ball opened, a beam of soft, blue light erupting from inside which formed into the huge dragon, who gave a rather loud yawn and shook his head before he glanced about, blinking. Shan couldn't help but give a breath of quiet laughter at seeing him in such a sleepy state; it was much more endearing than how he had behaved towards her yesterday anyhow.

"You're free, Dialga," Shera said, catching the dusk ball before it could fall to the rocky ground. "You can go home now... wherever home for you is anyway."

Shan promptly averted her attention from the Temporal Pokémon when he turned his head to fix his ruby-red gaze upon the two of them, remembering that he had wanted her to leave him alone...

Dialga narrowed his eyes slightly, listening to the red-headed girl speak. Free? If only she knew... Holding back a sigh, the draconic Pokémon moved to sit down, his tail twitching lightly back and forth behind him. He settled his gaze upon the pale form of Shan, seeing her quickly looking away from him and down at the ground. Though he could understand the human language, he in turn could not speak it, his vocal chords much too different to allow him to form such complicated sounds. His way of communication with other Pokémon was by the way of varying growls, grunts, roars, and the occasional screech. This Lucario could speak the human's language, and he knew that he would have to go back on his demand if there were to be _any_ communications between both sides over this matter.

"You," he grunted, causing Shan to flinch and step closer to her trainer before the she-jackal reluctantly raised her head to look up at him, wine-red eyes meeting his own. "Translate."...

Shan wrinkled her muzzle, insulted that he'd speak to her as if she were some primitive savage. The female jackal 'mon bit back an angry reply, not wishing to anger the dragon up here on the Pillar after the both of them had finally recovered from their last bout.

"As you wish, Lord Dialga..." she said at last, keeping her voice even as she moved to stand in front of the dragon, though making sure to not get too close to him before she turned to face Shera.

"I understand that your intentions are kind," she translated, taking care to drop the word 'human' before she continued, ignoring the fact that Dialga was glaring daggers into the back of her skull. "But at this time I am unable to return to my own dimension. By the will of my father, the being your kind know only as 'the Original One', I am exiled here until I can learn to control my anger. Only then will I be able to leave this dimension and return to my own."

"What happened?" Shera asked, eyes widening. "What'd you _do_ to make him exile you?"

"That is something I do not wish to discuss at the moment," Shan translated, once again dropping the word 'human'. "Perhaps I will tell you once I feel that I am able to trust you and this Lucario female of yours. Until then, do not ask me such questions again, for you will _not_ gain the answer which you seek."

"I understand…" the girl replied softly. "I won't catch you again, don't worry, but... uh... how are you going to keep people from noticing you? I mean, you're not exactly the smallest Pokémon around."

Shan gave a snort of laughter, having to clamp both forepaws over her muzzle to quell the sound. Though it was rude to laugh at what her trainer had said, it _was_ true, and the Aura Pokémon felt that Dialga deserved it for not even bothering to use their names when he knew them. Lucario female indeed...

"Watch it..." Dialga growled, glaring down at her.

Not even bothering to answer the human girl's question, he moved to stand as a faint lapis lazuli aura enveloped him, the blue diamond set into his chest plate beginning to glow. He snorted softly when that Lucario moved to stand directly in front of her trainer, though part of him didn't blame her for being so cautious around him since what he was about to do began so similarly to his Roar of Time attack. The aura grew brighter and the time dragon's eyes slowly fell closed as he tilted his head back, allowing the change to begin.

He felt himself becoming... shorter... lighter... Though the change wasn't painful, it still felt quite... odd... to have his skeletal structure changing to accommodate his new form. The weight upon his lower back decreased as the metal sail-like structure changed, becoming a thin, metal belt situated around his waist, which had become more narrow and slender. He felt his chest plate also becoming lighter and thinner, though the metal moved to envelop the entirety of his torso. Slight pressure was felt at the backs of his forepaws as the bone-like spikes appeared, and he felt his muzzle lengthen and narrow, a pair of erect ears and the four aura sensors important to this form sprouting from the top and back of his head respectively.

He felt all four of his legs beginning to lengthen, the foremost pair becoming more like arms, yet they ended in paws rather than hand-like digits. He moved to kneel to keep from falling onto his back, not yet used to standing upon only two legs. He felt something light against his legs, knowing that he was now wearing clothing like any other member of the Lucario species. His tail became thinner and lighter, the end bending downwards and taking on that unmistakable kink. The light then faded, and Dialga drew a long, slow breath before he exhaled and slowly raised his head, his eyes opening to reveal that they were the same harsh, glowing ruby as they had been in his true form...

Shan and Shera exchanged uncertain glances before their attention was drawn back to the source of the lapis lazuli light. As soon as it had begun, the light faded, and where the time dragon once stood knelt a Lucario.

'_Lord... Dialga...?_' Shan thought, staring open-mouthed at his new form. '_Why choose to become... one of my kind...?_'

As she watched, the dragon-Lucario moved to stand upon his hind legs, though he glanced about at the ground, unsure of himself, before he took one very shaky step forward. Despite her mind warning her to stay put, Shan darted forward when Dialga's legs buckled from underneath him, and she caught him before he could fall to the ground, letting him lean all of his weight against her. She felt a shiver crawl down her spine when she found herself trapped by his harsh gaze, his face an emotionless mask even as he slowly turned his head away.

"... ... Thank you, but it was not necessary of you to break my fall. I would have been perfectly fine."

"I wanted to," she replied softly, feeling her cheeks grow warm in spite of herself, and she shook her head to rid herself of the blush, hoping that he hadn't noticed. "And you're welcome."

The she-jackal felt a pang of disappointment when Dialga moved to push himself away from her, and she released him, allowing her arms to fall to her sides even though she still felt his warmth upon them. She merely watched, too breathless to move as the changed deity managed two wobbly steps this time, and he growled in frustration when he felt his legs buckle yet a second time, causing him to fall to his forepaws and knees. Frowning, Shan moved to kneel beside him, though she took the chance to study his new form as she offered him support for when he was ready to try standing again.

From what she could see that was not hidden by his clothing, the dragon-turned-Lucario was covered in a short coat of dark, blue-black fur, his turquoise diamondine markings absent in this form, though the bone-like spikes at the backs of his forepaws held a very slight tinge of the color. His shorts were the same color as the majority of his fur, but his shirt was light silvery-gray in hue, and rather than the bone-like chest spike found upon true Lucarios, the blue diamond of his true form was embedded within the center of his chest. All four of his paws were socked in black like her own, matching the mask-like pattern upon his face, the armor of his true self absent. The steel rings which encircled his shoulders, like his belt, were dark gray in color, a deep contrast from the light color of the shirt which silently voiced the remnants of his armor.

'_He makes for a very handsome - if not oddly-colored - Lucario,_' Shan thought, feeling herself blushing again, and she quickly turned her head away when she felt Dialga moving to loop an arm about her shoulders, though she sensed that his action was a hesitant one. '_But... who am I to judge? I'm not exactly the right color either..._'

"This is so damn _embarrassing_," he growled, rousing Shan from her thoughts. "Needing help just to _walk_! I would not be surprised if Uxie, Azelf, _and_ Mesprit are all laughing at me from their lakes..."

"Don't worry, Lord Dialga. You'll get the hang of it," she replied gently, turning her head to give him a reassuring smile, not caring if she was still blushing or not. Slowly, the two jackals rose to their feet, Shan giving Dialga time to ready himself before they slowly began to move towards the Pillar's exit.

"I'm glad you're both okay," Shera piped up as she fell into step beside the two Pokémon. "I was afraid something had gone wrong."...

The Hall of Origin

The image within the silvery ellipse wavered before fading, and the spell itself dissipated into nothingness. Both Arceus and Palkia turned their attention to one another, and the qilin 'mon gave his daughter a reassuring nod.

"You see," Arceus said gently, narrowing his eyes slightly in his version of a small smile. "He is _not_ alone, and he will be less conspicuous in that Lucario form."

"... I suppose," the dragoness replied with a sigh. "But I still wish that I could be there with him for this."

"I know, Palkia," the Alpha Pokémon said softly. "I know, but Dialga is strong. Have faith in him."

"I do, Father. I do have faith in my brother, and I always will."

"Good girl," Arceus replied before he once again closed the distance between himself and Palkia, inclining his head to gently touch his forehead to her shoulder in a gesture of comfort. "Now, get some sleep. It is late."

He stayed with the water dragon until she was curled up comfortably on the transparent floor, and only then did he opt to leave her alone and retire to his own area of the Hall.

"Little brother," Palkia whispered, her eyes slowly falling closed as she heaved a small sigh. "Please, do not do anything stupid..."


	4. Metal Butterfly

_Author's Note: My muse didn't die! Hooray! And thank you to everyone who took the time to read my story. I'm just glad people actually take the time to click on this even if they don't read it. I'm also surprised that this story has reached nine reviews, which I never thought would happen when I first began this project of mine. To everyone who reviewed: thank you, it means a lot to me. _

_Anyway, the plot begins to thicken in this chapter even though I don't focus very much on Team Galactic... yet. I pretty much had to grasp at thin air when it came to Mars's personality because she has yet to make her appearance in the anime and all I know is that she gets _really_ pissed off at you for beating her so many times in the games. This just made her the perfect candidate for which commander to bring back. Also, Shan finally pays for overexerting herself back in the first chapter of the story. As for Tanaka roaring the last syllable of Luxray's Japanese name, I did that because I prefer Rentoraa over Luxray even though I use the dub name to refer to the species._

_This is my first attempt at writing a routine for the appeal round of a Pokémon Contest, so I apologize if it seems a bit weird. Poor Shan ended up being my guinea pig for this, and I was listening to a live version of 'The Siren' (with Anette) by Nightwish for inspiration. The name of this chapter spawns from a part in my AU one-shot, Fortune, and the conversation between Isto and Dialga at the end spawns from the fact that I watch Avatar: The Last Airbender too much for my own good. As a matter of fact, this story will have a few parts and ideas adapted from that show later on because I love it and it is the source of my inspiration. Also, I've started having Dialga remember the fight he had with Giratina from the trailer of new movie even though it isn't out yet. It has been my intention since chapter one to set this story after both movies, but back then, I hadn't been feeling confident enough to include anything indicating that until now because it will be __**necessary**__ for an upcoming chapter._

_Special thanks go out to my best friend, Ayaluki, the best beta-reader I could ever ask for. This chapter is dedicated to Devi Serene for being such a good friend to me._

_As usual, Pokémon is © to that wonderful mastermind, Satoshi Tajiri._

* * *

Canalave City Library

'_Jupiter and Saturn may have run out on us with over half our scientists and grunts, but that doesn't mean _I'll _ever give up on helping Master Cyrus achieve his dream of godhood..._' Mars thought as she busily scribbled down notes from a page in a book she had been leafing through. _'Despite our humiliation on Mt. Coronet, we are _far_ from being through. No matter what that little Garland brat thinks!_'

"Purrreow," came a rather muffled noise down by her legs, and the red-headed woman glanced down to see her Purugly rubbing up against her legs, an ancient-looking tome held firmly in the she-cat's jaws. The woman knelt, reaching out to take the book, a smile spreading across her face from ear to ear as she leafed through the pages.

"This is _exactly_ what I was looking for, Purugly dear. You've made me very proud of you." '_For once..._'

"Purr... purrureow!" The Tiger Cat Pokémon puffed her chest out and raised her chin, looking quite proud of herself even as the red beam of light from her mistress recalling her to her Pokéball engulfed her. Chuckling darkly to herself, Mars rose before she moved to one of the vacant tables, setting the old book down in front of her.

'This_ will be the key to recovering Dialga,_' she thought, her eyes narrowing as she settled them upon a painting of a pale rose and ivory colored dragon which sported maroon markings. The creature was flying with a backdrop of an expanse of stars and planets behind it, including a comet which seemed to illuminate the rest of the objects in the picture with the light from its tail, the dragon most of all. '_Its space-controlling counterpart, Palkia._'

Eterna City -- The Garland Residence

Wordlessly, Dialga leant against the trunk of the large oak that grew in the yard behind the Garland dwelling, watching the girl and her team train. It had been a day since Shera had returned his freedom to him at the Spear Pillar, but, because of his exile, the time dragon still felt bound to the girl and her mismatched little troupe of Pokémon. Of course, she had immediately gone and told her mother of his predicament, and while the silver-haired woman had at first been wary of him, she had offered him a place to stay for the duration of his exile... and who knew how long _that_ would last...

Though every last one of these mortals irritated him, in the end, Dialga had accepted Mrs. Garland's offer, with Shan once again acting as translator for him. The human language was something he would have to learn to speak -- not that he desired to. If he were to learn it, he would only be able to speak it while in this Lucario form, and that just seemed quite frivolous to him. He probably would not even be allowed to keep the form once his exile came to an end, so why waste time learning to speak a language he would be unable to speak at all in his true form? He could already understand human speech, and that was enough for him.

"Tanaka, use Shock Wave. Shan, try to guard using Metal Claw," came the human girl's voice, snapping Dialga from his thoughts. His ears pricked slightly as he watched the big black and turquoise lion prepare for the attack he had been issued to use, the triple bands upon his forelegs sparking with tongues of lightning. He saw the pale gray Lucario sink into a half crouch, waiting for her opponent to make his move.

"_Torrrrrrraaaaaaa!_" The big cat roared, causing the dragon-Lucario's fur to stand on end from the volume of the cry as Tanaka unleashed the generated electricity, the bolt careening towards his opponent who wasted not a moment in acting, raising her arms to cross them in front of her face, the bone-like spikes upon the backs of her paws having become enveloped in pale gray light and changed into long claws. The bolt of electricity was intercepted, and, with a swift movement from the she-Lucario uncrossing her arms, was dissipated. Remnants of the attack crackled round Shan's claws before her own attack faded, said claws disappearing and once again leaving the bone-spikes behind.

"Good, that's enough for now, you two," the girl said, raising a hand to push her braid back over her shoulder. "You're done for now, Tanaka," she added, giving the Luxray a scratch behind his right ear. Dialga wrinkled his muzzle when he saw the big lion lean his head into the gesture, a purr-like growl rumbling from deep within his throat. Tame Pokémon! _How_ can they stand being touched by a human? He shivered, remembering when Shera had patted him between the ears when they were leaving the Spear Pillar after his transformation. Though the contact had been brief and not harsh at all, it had still felt like an electric shock through his entire body and something he did not want to experience again anytime soon.

"Hey, Shan," Isto piped up from where she was sitting upon the nearby fence, an underlying devious tone to her voice as she spoke. "Why not show Dialga the routine for the appeal round you've been working on for the Sunnyshore Contest?"

The time master's ears pricked upon hearing his name, and he turned his head towards the dark bird, arching a brow in question even though he remained silent. Just what was she talking about?

"Isto!" the she-Lucario cried, a light blush appearing on her face. "Are you crazy?! I-I'm not really sure he'd want to see something like that..."

"Come on, Shan, it wouldn't hurt," Shera said gently, moving to rest a gloved hand upon the pale jackal 'mon's shoulder. "Besides, practice makes perfect, right? I know you get nervous about the appeal round because of so many people watching, and it will be your first time competing in it since you evolved, but it's something you'll need to get used to if you want to make it to the battle round."

"But, but I..." Shan stammered, her blush deepening to crimson. The Fighting-type lashed her tail once, too flustered to say anything else, before she gave vent to a deep sigh and raised her left forepaw to touch the red ribbon she wore upon her right forearm. "I... suppose I could... But I have a long way to go, so it's not exactly perfect..."

"Try me," Dialga said, resting his attention upon her, his brow furrowing at her action. That ribbon was something he had never noticed before about her, not even during the battle between them on Mt. Coronet or when he had yelled at her back at the Pokémon Center days before...

The she-Lucario cast one last nervous glance at him before she turned her attention towards her trainer, who was currently applying a seal to Shan's Pokéball. The canid slicked her ears back slightly as she eyed the device, as being confined to it, even for a moment, was something she had hated ever since she was little. Riley had kept Shan inside _that_ red and white sphere for a short while the day he had given her to Shera, and that was the Lucario's chief reason for her distaste for being confined inside of the thing.

"Ready?" Shera asked after she had made one last readjustment to the ball capsule before she slipped it over the red and white sphere.

"As I'll ever be..."

"All right," came the response as Shera pointed the device at her Lucario, who tensed at the action. "Shan, return."

Dialga shook his head slightly, though he could relate to the canid's dislike for the stupid little spheres. He had felt like he was being put back under control - _chained_ - again when he was captured, hence why he had purposely broken the first ball the human girl had thrown at him. He saw Shan flinch slightly when the beam of red light struck her, enveloping her form before it pulled her into the red and white prison. The dragon's attention remained upon the human girl, who moved to a more open part of the large yard. She held the Pokéball containing Shan up by her chest for a moment, before she tossed the sphere upwards.

"Shan, center stage!"

At the girl's command, the ball opened, and Dialga's eyes widened in surprise at seeing a huge ball of blue fire erupting from it with no sign of the gray-furred Lucario. Well, _that_ was completely unexpected. At once, the fire parted, revealing Shan at its center, the shade of the dark blue flame causing her pale coat to stand out against it. The fire then faded from existence altogether, leaving Shan standing with her trainer a few feet behind her and off to the left. The she-Lucario's arms were out in front of her slightly, and angled downwards in a fighter's ready stance, her head bowed and her eyes closed.

"Aura Sphere, straight up."

Though she kept her eyes closed, Shan's stance shifted as she took a small step back, raising her paws in front of her chest before the signature attack of her species began to form in between her palms, small at first before it grew to a considerable size. The jackal 'mon's eyes snapped open as she moved to do as her trainer commanded, tossing the Aura Sphere straight up into the air. Immediately, the Lucario shot off to the right when Shera called for her to use Rock Climb, running up the trunk of a nearby tree before she pushed off, flipping head over heels twice as she leapt high into the air - towards the Aura Sphere.

'_Well, this is quite... unusual..._' Dialga thought, keeping himself quiet as he continued to watch what the pale canid was doing. '_But interesting, to say the least..._'

"Metal Claw."

As with earlier during her mock battle against Tanaka, the bone-spikes upon the backs of Shan's paws took on a light gray glow before they elongated into sharp claws, and at the height of her jump - where she would come nearest to intercepting the Aura Sphere - she slashed out, her claws slicing through the green-blue aura and causing it to break apart and fall to the ground in a dazzling shower of sparks, reminding Dialga of the meteor showers his sister would always drag him out to watch when they were but children. The she-Lucario landed in a crouch before she moved to slowly stand, her head raised, attention upon the falling sparks as she awaited her next command.

"Good! Now, the finale, Force Palm."

Shan's stance shifted once again, the Lucario now standing with her legs slightly apart as she closed her eyes. Slowly, she raised both arms out to her sides, keeping them in that position for a second before she slowly moved them, her left moving counter-clockwise to where it stopped poised over her head, her right moving clockwise downward before she was holding it straight down in front of her, these movements slow and flowing. She remained this way for a moment before she finished the motion, completing the circle before she drew her paws close to her chest, the palms nearly together as they had been when she had created the Aura Sphere earlier in her performance. The falling sparks of aura had, to Dialga's amazement, been drawn to where they had gathered between Shan's paws, hence the circular motion she had made with her arms. The sparks came together, forming a small sphere that was quickly swallowed by the aura forming around the she-Lucario's right forepaw. She waited, concentrating, before her eyes once again snapped open, and she suddenly thrust out with her right forepaw, sending a green-blue pulse of aura rippling outwards from her.

She remained that way for a moment before she rose to her full height, arms at her sides before she lowered her upper body in a bow, Shera performing the same movement from where she stood. A chorus of cheers came from Shan's teammates, and a few minutes had passed before Dialga realized that he had been standing there with his mouth open. The dragon shook his head to snap himself out of the small trance he had been put into by the she-Lucario's performance, and to regain his composure, hoping that she hadn't noticed him standing there gaping like a dim-witted Psyduck. After a moment, he caught her eye before giving her a small nod to signal his approval - and to disguise the fact that it had impressed him more than he was letting on... Hardly anything did at all any more...

Shan had to quickly turn her head away to keep him from seeing her blushing for the second time that day. Though it had only been a small gesture he had given her, she now knew that Dialga had been pleased with her performance, and this knowledge made Shan's spirits soar. She saw the Honchkrow staring at her from where she perched on the fence, a rather smug expression upon her face - as smug as a bird could look, anyway.

'_How could you put me on the spot like that in front of Dialga? Mark my words, Isto: I'll get you for this..._' the jackal 'mon thought, catching the bird's eye, her own narrowing slightly. Though the 'krow enjoyed teasing the Lucario about things, this was starting to go too far for Shan's comfort. Isto didn't even like Dialga! Then... just what in the world was she up to? The jackal remained silent, pushing her anger towards the avian to the back of her mind before she began thinking about the waves of pain she had felt during her performance when she had performed the two attacks involving aura. She had hoped that this would have gone away by now since she had been given two days of rest, but the pain was still as sharp as ever, and it had taken every ounce of her will to keep her from crying out. Thinking about nothing except Dialga had also been a help to her, as this practice session had been her best to date. Usually she would end up being a few seconds late on the jump, but this time she had been accurate in her judgement.

She gave a small start at feeling something touching her shoulder, and the Aura Pokémon glanced up to see Shera's hand upon her shoulder. "Sorry?"

"I asked you if you wanted to try that Force Palm again. The last one was really nice, but you need to focus on holding the duration of the pulse longer."

"Very well," Shan replied before she took a slow, deep breath and closed her eyes, praying that she wouldn't feel pain this time around. Again, she performed the slow, circular motion with her arms she had done earlier at the end of her full performance, concentrating upon gathering aura around her right forepaw - only to yelp when a sudden jolt of pain tore through her, more powerful than all the others she had experienced since the battles against Honchkrow and Dialga back upon the Spear Pillar...

"What the...?" Dialga's brow furrowed in confusion when he heard the pale she-jackal yelp before she fell to her knees, holding a paw against her chest, her ears slicked back against her skull. Wrinkling his muzzle, the dragon-Lucario moved to push himself away from the tree he had been leaning against before he slowly approached, seeing Isto fluttering to land at her friend's side. He stopped when he was a few feet away, however, not wanting to get too close to the others until he felt they were indeed truly worthy of his trust.

"Shan! Shan? What's wrong? What happened?" River cried, joining Tanaka and Isto beside their Fighting-type teammate.

The she-Lucario slowly opened her eyes to find herself surrounded by her teammates, all four of them looking concerned, even though Zaratan was staying back a few feet in order to give the jackal room in case she were to try moving about again. Only Dialga had completely kept his distance. Growling, Shan shook her head, gritting her teeth as she stood up. She would force herself to keep trying, no matter how much pain it caused her.

She took a deep breath before exhaling, giving her trainer and teammates time to back away from her before she tried the attack a second time, but again the pain came, and this time only a few feeble sparks of aura crackled around her paw before fizzling out. Her aura had never once done _that_ before...

'_What's wrong with me... With my aura?_' she thought, raising her paw close to her face to stare at it, tears beginning to sting at the corners of her eyes. '_Why is this happening...?_'

"I'm taking you to Nurse Joy right now," came Shera's voice before Shan felt the red beam of light strike her before it pulled her back into her Pokéball. The she-Lucario went without a fight, too upset and confused about what was happening to her to resist being recalled. "Zaratan, River, Tanaka, you three return," the girl continued, calling the Torterra, Gastrodon and Luxray respectively back to their own spheres. "Isto, you're in charge until we get back, okay?" The 'krow nodded once before she promptly returned to where she had been perching upon the fence.

"I highly doubt that human everyone in this world relies on so much will be able to help her," Dialga said, more to himself than anyone as he watched the girl run off, her form gradually getting smaller and smaller against the horizon before disappearing altogether. "If my assumption is correct, the she-Lucario's pain is not of the physical kind."

"What are you talking about, dragon?" the dark bird cawed angrily, turning rather awkwardly upon her perch to face him. "If you know what's causing Shan pain and keeping her from using Force Palm and possibly Aura Sphere, then you'd best spit it out!"

"Watch your beak, avian. I will _not_ hesitate to pluck you bald if you continue irritating me," Dialga snarled, tail lashing. "Very well, I will tell you what I believe is wrong with her. And before you go pinning the blame upon me, which everyone has been doing as of late, I did _not_ cause her any terrible harm back there upon the Spear Pillar. It was a male counterpart of yours who did."

"Cyrus had a Honchkrow?!" Isto squawked, nearly falling off the fence.

"Yes…" The dragon sighed and rolled his eyes heavenward. "As I was saying, I believe that your friend is suffering from a misaligned chakra, which has disturbed the flow of aura within her."

"... In proper Pokéspeech, please?" Isto replied, raising a wing to one side of her head. "Misaligned whosa-whasa? I think my brain just imploded from trying to understand all those Fighting-type terms."

'_... We have a winner,_' Dialga thought as he fought down a growl of irritation. "In other words: her aura has been... ... unbalanced, for lack of a better word, but if you want to go for an easier to understand yet less accurate explanation, then let us just say that her aura is 'broken'... So, until a way to fix her aura presents itself, she will not be able to use Aura Sphere, Force Palm, or any other attack dealing with aura for a _while_. Maybe even forever."

"Wow..." the bird muttered, eyes widening. "Poor Shan..."

"Not a problem of mine," Dialga said with a dismissive shrug of his shoulders. "It is that fool Lucario's own fault for pushing herself too hard."

"What did you call her?!" the Big Boss Pokémon yelled, her feathers ruffling to stand on end. "That's my best friend you're insulting there, bub!"

"It_ is _true. Do not deny that," the time dragon replied nonchalantly, turning his back to her. "So you are wasting your time getting your feathers in a twist over something she was not even here to hear for herself."

"Why you--"

"We're back, guys," came Shera's voice, stopping the Honchkrow from launching herself off the fence to attack Dialga, who turned to glance back over his shoulder. Shan was once again out of her Pokéball, and her gait was far from the usual way she would carry herself: the she-Lucario's shoulders were slumped, her head lowered, and her gaze was fixed upon the ground in front of her. Dialga felt a stab of concern for her, but he quickly crushed the emotion. What was the use of wasting emotions upon somebody who irritated him to no end? And the Honchkrow was right below her friend on that level, her outburst something that had been completely uncalled for. He was beginning to tolerate the two humans, however, though not by much.

"_Kar karasu..._" he heard the avian mutter under her breath, and Dialga fought back a smirk at seeing her glowering at him from under the rim of her fedora.

'_Hate me all you like, bird, but that does not mean I will retract my earlier statement about the she-Lucario,_' he thought to himself, moving to once again lean against the trunk of the oak and gazing up at the sky, only half-listening to the red-headed girl telling the bird that that Joy human had been unable to help the jackal 'mon recover her lost aura abilities. Once again, Dialga felt a sense of guilt for what was happening to the pale-furred Aura Pokémon, and, once again, he crushed it. Damn useless emotions!

'_Are you afraid to bond with these mortals, Dialga?_' a voice that sounded something like Giratina accused him from deep within his mind. Afraid? Certainly not! He just did not wish to waste time getting to know creatures he would eventually have to leave and would probably never see again... that was all... was it not? '_You _are_ concerned for the Lucario, and you know it, whether you like it or not. She pushed herself hard that day not only in order to save her own world, but to save _you_ from a fate far worse than death at the hands of that blue-haired human. She suffers because of _you_, and you are refusing to lift a paw to aid her. You are not this cold, Dialga, no matter how much you believe yourself to be._'

'_Fine! I will aid her. Satisfied?_' he spat back at the voice, though he felt himself shiver slightly at the fact that his fight with Giratina had left such an impression on him to where _his own damn conscience_ now sounded something like the ghost dragon. Just wonderful. Pushing his memory of the Renegade Pokémon back to the dark recesses of his mind where it belonged, Dialga began to think, a plan forming in his mind. If anyone he knew could possibly help the Lucario, Mesprit could...

'_I'll find a way to cope... somehow..._' Shan thought miserably, not once looking up from the ground. It was like being a Riolu all over again for her. Once again, she felt as if she were of no use to her trainer or to her teammates, like a Magikarp on dry land. What was going to happen to her now? She flinched when she felt a light touch upon her shoulder, and she slowly turned her head to see the red-headed girl watching her with a look of concern upon her face. She was also holding something round and tinged purple in her other hand, and the jackal 'mon's brow furrowed. '_A Technical Machine?_ _What are you up to, Shera?_'

"I know this won't help you get your lost abilities back, but I think it will be of benefit to you in the long run against Psychics and Ghosts," Shera said, holding up the TM for Shan to get a closer look at it. "To tell you the truth, I've thought about asking you if you wanted to learn this for a while now. It's Shadow Claw, and I highly doubt many of your opponents will see it coming if you learn how to use it."

"Are you sure you want to waste a perfectly good attack like that on me?" Shan asked, her eyes falling to rest upon the device.

"Why not? I want to help you, Shan. You may not believe me when I say this, but I'm _not_ going to turn my back on you. I didn't before and I certainly won't now," Shera replied. "And yes, I'm sure."

The gray-furred Lucario allowed herself to smile, though the gesture was a faint one, before she nodded. She closed her eyes when the girl moved to gently brush her forelock away from her eyes, and Shan tensed for a second at the feel of the cold metal against her forehead. She was no stranger to having one of these used on her, as she had learned Rock Climb from something similar to this. The jackal opened her mind to accept the knowledge as if she had known Shadow Claw all her life, and, though the action was reluctant, she allowed herself to forget Aura Sphere...

"Hmm?" Dialga blinked in confusion when he took notice of the exchange between the canid and her trainer. As he watched, an aura of dark purple formed around the she-Lucario, remaining there for a minute or two before slowly fading. The girl then pulled her hand back, and Dialga saw that she was holding what looked like a piece of rounded metal. As he watched, Shan's eyes opened, flashing the same dark purple as the aura that had been around her. Then the piece of metal cracked and broke into pieces which faded into nothingness. Just _what_ was that...?

Shan stood there, staring down at her paws, even when she felt the girl lower a hand to rest it between the Lucario's ears before giving her forelock a light tousle, something Shan normally hated, but this time she realized that the gesture had lacked the light-hearted teasing that normally accompanied it. "Shera, thank you," she said softly, not bothering to raise a paw to fix her now messy fur. "I won't fail you, I promise."


	5. Keep The Faith

_Author's Note: Okay, this has got to be the __**longest**__ chapter to date. I listened to __**a lot**__ of Nightwish (both old and new) to get it finished. Also, I've cranked the rating up a notch because as I continued writing, the story's current rating just didn't seem to fit anymore. There's a bit of violence at the beginning of this chapter due to the fact that I was extremely pissed off at YouTube when I wrote it. I just hope that my story doesn't earn Dialga any hate among the people who are actually reading this, that's never been my intention, I'm just trying my best to keep him in character. And if any of you are wondering, no the chapter name was inspired by the song 'Keep the Faith' by the J-pop artist Kat-Tun, __**not**__ the song by Bon Jovi even though I like that one too._

_Mesprit, who I see as being mischievous as well as being wise, makes her debut in this chapter, and for those of you who are wondering, yes, Azelf and Uxie will be appearing later on in the story as well, but __**no other Legends**__will be with the exception of Giratina, but his appearance will be necessary for a later chapter. The only Legends aside from him who are included in this story are those who are closely tied with Dialga. It just wouldn't make any sense for anybody else to show up, you know? And yes, I believe that Dialga and Palkia are related to the Lake Trio. Arceus __**did**__ create all five of them, you know. The location of the third Galactic base, Kami Island, is my own creation for the sole purpose of this story because the two bases from the games would be a very, very poor setting for the violent turn that the plot is going to take later on._

_Special thanks go out to my best friend, Ayaluki, the best beta-reader I could ever ask for. This chapter is dedicated to you, sis. _

_As always, Pokémon is © to that wonderful mastermind, Satoshi Tajiri._

* * *

Night had fallen for the residents of Eterna City, but for one Pokémon sleep didn't come so easily. Voicing an agitated snarl, Dialga hoisted himself out through the guest bedroom window after having spent next to an hour fighting with the locking mechanism, and, in the end, he had finally managed to get the damned thing open (and by some miracle) without breaking it. The dragon-Lucario grunted softly when he dropped to the ground, landing in a crouching position which he remained in for a few moments to survey his surroundings before he slowly stood and moved out into the back yard.

He blinked when a figure came into view, and it took him a moment to recognize the pale gray fur. Apparently the female jackal was also having a sleepless night. She was sitting in the grass with her back to him, and, with barely a sound, Dialga approached her, stopping a foot or so behind her before he cleared his throat. The reaction she gave was one that Dialga had _not_ expected, however, and he gave a cry of surprise when the she-Lucario suddenly, as quick as lightning, sprang to her feet, knocking Dialga's own out from under him with a sweep of her leg.

"Oof..." the dragon gasped, feeling the wind knocked out of him from the impact, a painful reminder that he wasn't in his true form at the moment. He didn't even have time to give a further reaction when the gray canid had him pinned against the ground, a foot upon his chest right below his diamond, the dark purple energy signifying a Ghost-type attack beginning to form around her right forepaw, forming rather ghastly-looking claws. Shadow Claw! So that's what the aura he had seen around her earlier that day had been -- her learning Shadow Claw from that odd piece of metal!

"Stop!" he cried, raising his forepaws to shield his face from the impending attack. "Did a Ghost-type possess you or something?! I said stop!!"

When no reply came, Dialga tensed, bracing himself for the attack - which never came. At once, he felt the pressure upon his chest lift, and he heard the sound of grass rustling. Cautiously, he lowered his forepaws away from his face and opened his eyes to see her down upon her knees, her upper body pressed low to the ground, arms out in front of her and her ears slicked back against her skull.

"Lord Dialga! I-I'm so sorry! You startled me because I didn't hear you approach! Please... please forgive me..." she whimpered, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. She was trembling, and the deity narrowed his eyes as he slowly pulled himself to his feet to tower above her, pausing to brush stray bits of grass from his person. That was it!

"Look at me. Do you honestly expect me to forgive you for attacking me like you did?" he snapped, feeling his anger skyrocket. He moved to kneel in front of her upon one knee when he saw her slowly raise her head, her wine-red eyes slowly opening to meet his own. "There was absolutely _no reason_ at all for you to do something like that," he continued, waiting until she had visibly relaxed before he moved quickly, forcing the thrice-surprised she-Lucario onto her back with him towering over her, a forepaw held against her throat as he knelt over her, his face mere inches from hers to where the tips of their muzzles nearly touched. "How do _you_ like it?! Give me _one_ damn good reason why _I_ should not rip _your_ throat out after you tried doing so to me!"

"I..." came the choked response. "I couldn't sense you..."

"What do you mean you 'could not sense me'?" he asked, his voice hard. His eyes widened suddenly, however, when he began to realize that his mind was running away with him again, making him think that he was seeing Giratina again, all because of one damn attack. Growling, Dialga shook his head to clear away the image before he reopened his eyes, once again seeing the she-Lucario instead of the renegade. Slowly, he pulled his paw away from her throat before he stood and turned his back to her, moving away a few steps, his head bowed as his emotions warred inside him. What... was he _doing_...?!

'_You idiot!_' his conscience snarled.'_How could you go and strike out at her like that when you _knew_ that what she did was nothing but an _accident_?! You could have injured - or worse - _killed_ her! For the last damn time, stop taking your rage and frustration out upon her! She has done absolutely _nothing_ to you! _This_ is why Arceus exiled you in the first place: because you lash out at those who have never once hurt you!_'

"I..." he whispered, gritting his teeth as he raised his paws to clutch at the sides of his head, his eyes squeezing shut. He heard Shan cough a few times before he heard her moving slowly to get up, but it wasn't until a few minutes had passed before he finally relaxed, his arms falling back to his sides before he turned to face her.

"Are... you..." He hesitated, feeling a hard lump forming in his throat, keeping the rest of his question from being spoken. He cleared his throat before he tried a second time. "Are you... all right?"

'_See? That was not as hard as you thought, was it?_' his conscience asked sharply. '_That is a step in the right direction for you... albeit a small one. It is a miracle that she has not run away from you._'

'_Shut up..._'

"It hurts to swallow, but yeah, I'm all right. Are you?" she asked, stepping closer, her ears pricking forward to point towards him.

"I... will manage," he replied, his voice unusually soft as he grasped for an explanation for him handling her so roughly. The dragon-Lucario opened his mouth to continue, but the words died upon his tongue when Shan placed a paw on his shoulder and shook her head, a small smile upon her muzzle. Again Dialga found himself completely confused by the she-Lucario's actions. _Why_ did she not fear him? He tried to _kill_ her! Did his battle with Giratina traumatize him so, to where seeing Shan's Shadow Claw triggered such a powerful memory of the Renegade Pokémon, to where he thought that she was him? He stared blankly at where her paw rested upon the steel ring that encircled his shoulder, and he slowly raised one of his own to place over hers, only to stop himself at the last possible second, his paw hovering right over hers. With a barely audible sigh, he moved to push hers away instead, feeling his chest tighten...

Shan frowned, but allowed him to refuse her touch. She moved a few steps back to give him more space, murmuring an apology before she turned and began to move off.

"Wait." His call stopped her dead in her tracks, and she turned round to face him, a brow arched in question. "What did you mean when you said that you could not sense me?"

"That's just it," she replied, sighing and looking towards the fence. "I can't even use my aura to sense others or to see any more, so if my normal sight were to become impaired, even temporarily, I would be _completely_ blind. I lost _everything_, Lord Dialga. All because I had to be so damn stupid and push myself far beyond my limit the day we rescued you."

"What if I knew a way to possibly restore your aura?" he suddenly asked, the words leaving him before he could stop himself. He tensed when she closed the distance between them by a few steps, her ears pricked forward in interest, her eyes wide.

"Do you...?" Her voice was nothing but a barely audible whisper. "Will you tell me? Please?"

Dialga hesitated, turning his head to gaze up at the night sky. What would Palkia do in a situation like this?

"It would make more sense if I were to show you rather than explain," he said finally, slowly turning his head to once again rest his ruby gaze upon her. "All I can tell you is that the answer lies at Lake Verity."

"The home of Mesprit? But that's all the way back west by Twinleaf Town! It would take weeks, even _months_, to travel from here to there…"

"No, it would not take that long. Mortals like you forget that there are other ways than what are first presented to you. I am the Master of Time, and I can get us there by tomorrow morning, but..." He trailed off, his gaze moving to rest upon the ground in front of him, feeling a little embarrassed at the fact that he was beginning to sound like his father. "I... I need you to trust me."

"Why wouldn't I trust you, Lord Dialga?" Shan asked, tilting her head to one side. "Despite how you've treated me for the past few days since we first met, I've _never_ lost my trust in you, and I never will. Remember what I told you back at the Pokémon Center? You're a hero to me, you always have been and always will be."

"Is there anything else you want to add to that?" he asked, arching a brow slightly in question. Though her words were sincere, he had detected an underlying sadness and a sense of hesitation within them, as if there were something she was holding back... something she was too terrified to tell him... but... what? '_You had better not be lying to me..._' he thought gruffly, though he chose to keep it unvoiced.

"No, there isn't..." she replied, her voice trembling in spite of her efforts to control it, and she felt her heart clench in pain at the lie. Shan wanted to tell the dragon her true feelings for him, but she felt that now wasn't the time or the place. He didn't trust her enough (or at all) in return, and if she were to tell him something so personal... well, that was something she would rather not think about. She fell silent, awaiting his response with bated breath, and she didn't relax until he grunted and gave a single nod.

Dialga knew she was lying, but he decided not to press the matter. He'd leave it alone and see if her own guilt would eventually push her to confess whatever secret she was hiding from him. That was not the case at the moment, however; getting her to Lake Verity to see Mesprit was.

"We are losing time," he finally said, mentally berating himself for stalling like this. The time creature took a slow, deep breath before he exhaled and closed the distance between himself and Shan. "Take my paws. This is going to require a joint effort between the two of us." '_If Arceus's damned suppression of my powers will even allow this to work..._' he thought bitterly. '_This is _not_ for my own benefit. I am doing this... for _her._.._'

"But I should let Shera know about this," Shan said, glancing over towards the window of her trainer's room. "She worries."

"No." Dialga shook his head. "Do not wake her. We should not be gone for long."

He swallowed nervously when he felt the she-Lucario gently grasping both of his forepaws in her own, though her action had been a hesitant one. It was strange being this close to a female he was not related to, let alone the one he had handled roughly earlier that night.

"Um... now what?" Shan asked, glancing about in an attempt to ignore the metaphorical flock of Butterfrees that were performing aerial maneuvers in her stomach.

"Close your eyes and clear your mind. Focus upon and picture _nothing_ but Lake Verity during tomorrow's sunrise, and do _not_ open your eyes until I tell you to, understood?"

"Y-yeah..." she replied softly as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. Dialga followed suit, and it was but a moment before he felt the all too familiar lurch as he and his companion were pulled through time...

Kami Island -- Galactic Base

Cyrus's eyes narrowed as he read through the progress reports, a faint ghost of a smile playing across his lips for a second before once again disappearing. All the equipment had finally been relocated from where it had been kept in the old base back at Veilstone City, with only minor incidents which could be handled and fixed promptly. Kami Island would be the perfect place for him to make the second red chain needed for his second attempt at purging this wretched world of all its sins... and a second attempt at godhood. There was no need to rush; he would let all those fools lure themselves into a false sense of security by thinking that Team Galactic had been vanquished by that child at Mt. Coronet.

It could take months, but Cyrus knew that he had all the time in the world.

"Enter," he commanded when a knock sounded at the closed door of his quarters. The man didn't even bother to look up when he heard the sounds of the door opening, light footsteps against the hard, tiled floor, and the sound of the door once again being closed.

"I've found information on a way to recover Dialga," came a voice, and Cyrus didn't need to look up to recognize that the voice belonged to Mars. It wasn't until the red-haired woman placed an open book upon the table at which he was seated that the man finally turned his attention from the reports. His brow creased slightly as he regarded the painted image, his lips silently mouthing each word as he read the text written on the opposite page.

"Palkia, hmm? Good work on finding this information, Commander," he said, still not bothering to look up at her. "Tell the scientists to ready the holding tanks. It appears that we will be paying those three little 'Lake Spirits' yet another visit -- and this time, we will make sure to dispose of them so they will not ruin my plan yet again."

"Sir! Yes, Sir!" Even though there was that emotionless tone to his voice, Mars couldn't help but feel a surge of pride in her accomplishment. It was _very_ rare for Team Galactic's leader to give out even a single compliment. Although he wasn't looking, the woman still gave him a salute before she turned and left his quarters, a smirk worming its way across her lips as she made her way to the labs so she could relay Cyrus's order. '_And if all goes according to plan, that little brat will come to save her friends, and I'll _finally _get to pay her back for all those damn times she's humiliated me -- in spades._'

Lake Verity Cavern Entrance - The Following Morning

The waters at the edge of the little island rippled when a sudden breeze kicked up, caused by a flash of light which lingered briefly before it faded, leaving two figures behind. It wasn't until he felt cold, hard rock underneath his feet that Dialga slowly opened his eyes, glancing about before he turned his attention back to his companion. Her eyes were still closed, but he noticed that her fur was paler than normal.

'_I suppose time travel is not for everyone,_' he thought with a shrug before he tried to release her paws - only to find that she was holding onto his quite tightly. '_... especially not her..._'

"You may open your eyes now, little Lucario," he said gruffly, not caring that, since he was not in his true form at the moment, she was not quite so little compared to him. "And release me. There is absolutely no need for you to cut the flow of blood to my paws any more."

"You're not so big yourself any more, you realize," Shan countered, opening her eyes to glare at him for calling her _that_ name again. Her irritation was short-lived, however, and she quickly released his paws when she realized just how tightly she had been holding on to them. "Um... sorry..."

The only response given to her apology was a shrug before both jackals turned to face the cavern entrance that yawned before them. Shan wrinkled her muzzle at the thought of having to go in there. Underground places weren't exactly her favorite after she had been raised in and around one for most of her childhood.

"Are you afraid?" Dialga asked, arching a brow at the fact that the pale-furred Lucario was hesitating. "It is just a cavern."

"No, I'm not. I'm just not very fond of places like this," she replied, glancing about to make sure that they were alone before she took a deep breath and headed through the entrance, Dialga following her a few seconds after. Shan jerked and had to fight to suppress a yelp of surprise when Dialga suddenly yelled the pixie's name from where he was walking right beside her. The jackal 'mon kept her ears pinned back incase he were to do it again, and she had to fight to keep from sighing at seeing the dragon watching her, amusement within his glowing ruby eyes.

"So making somebody nearly go deaf is funny?" she snapped, clapping her forepaws together next to one ear and then next to the other to be sure that she wasn't deaf like she fancied. "Warning me would have been nice instead of just yelling in my ears like that!"

"I was more amused by your reaction if anything. Do you honestly think I knew that your kind have sensitive ears?" Dialga shot back. "No, I did not. I may be a god, but that does not mean that I am not capable of erring. We are not as perfect as you mortals portray us to... be..." He trailed off, brow furrowing as he strained his hearing.

"What is it?" Shan asked, forgetting about their argument.

"Shh!" he hissed, holding up a paw to emphasize that he wanted her to be quiet. _Why_ did females, mortal or immortal, always have to be so noisy? The sound came again, somewhere off to his left, and, signaling for Shan to stay put, Dialga slowly began to move towards the source of the noise, which sounded something like snickering. '_Mesprit..._' he thought to himself, pausing beside one of the taller stalagmites, his gaze trained upon the she-Lucario for a moment to make it look like he wasn't too interested in where the little Lake Spirit was hiding.

"_What_ are you _doing_?" Shan mouthed, brow furrowed in utter confusion at the deity's actions. Her ears were still recovering from when Dialga had yelled into them, and she had only barely been able to hear him when he had shushed her. Her eyes widened when she saw the dragon suddenly turn and lunge to grab at something that was apparently behind the stalagmite he was standing beside, and it wasn't until he had pulled back with a struggling creature in his paws that she finally understood.

"Let go of me, you big oaf!" the little two-tailed creature cried, still struggling to get free. And from the pitch of the voice, Shan realized that this creature, who must be Mesprit, was a female like her. "Lucario form or not, you are not very considerate of someone who is smaller than you!"

"Then you should have answered me when I called for you, imp!" Dialga growled, his eyes narrowing. "Rather than hiding and laughing at me as you were!"

'_That would have spared my poor ears the pain they went through,_' Shan thought, keeping the comment to herself. As she watched, Dialga moved to release the pixie, and Shan noticed that, despite the way he had snapped at her, his action had been gentle. Those two apparently knew one another, but... how?

"But it is _fun_ to tease you, big brother," Mesprit replied, giggling and flipping her twin tails a few times to give her momentum as she floated away from the dragon. "Even after all these millennia."

"... 'Big brother'? W-wait a minute here, you mean that you're _related_ to Lord Dialga?" Shan found herself saying suddenly. "But... that's... _impossible_! The two of you look _nothing_ alike!" Eyes widening, the she-Lucario clamped her paws over her muzzle to silence herself, but it was already too late, and she fought the urge to turn and bolt from the cavern when she felt herself blushing in embarrassment. '_I _really_ need to stop hanging round Isto so damn much..._'

"So the second voice finally presents her owner," the Emotion Pokémon said, training her large, golden-yellow eyes upon Shan. The pixie was silent for a moment before she suddenly burst into laughter.

'_What the hell..._' Shan thought angrily, narrowing her eyes and slicking her ears back a bit. '_Am I _that_ odd-looking just because my fur happens to be gray rather than blue?!_'

"Is _she_ the reason you chose to take the form of a Lucario?" Mesprit asked once her bout of laughter had died down, though no matter how hard she tried to keep a straight face she was unable to stop the smirk that kept worming its way onto her features.

'_I did not choose this form..._' "That is not of your concern..." Dialga snarled, his tail beginning to lash back and forth. "She is merely an acquaintance of mine in need of your aid, _that is all_."

"Sure she is," the Psychic-type replied as she floated closer to the she-Lucario, who took a step back.

Shan kept her ears slicked back and her gaze trained upon Mesprit as the little creature proceeded to float around her, apparently looking her over. Due to her Fighting-typing, Psychics unnerved her, even though their attacks would only deal a normal amount of damage to her thanks to her Steel-sub-typing. Even though she now knew a Ghost-type attack, Shan decided to remain on her guard, and she twitched an ear when the little pixie hmmed and stopped to hover in front of her.

"So, what is bothering you... uh..."

"Shan... my name is Shan," the jackal 'mon replied, dipping her head in respect. She felt a pang of guilt for her earlier rash thought since it had been Dialga who Mesprit had been laughing at and not herself. "I lost the ability to control aura yesterday."

"I believe that one of her chakras was damaged in one of the battles she fought that day back on the Spear Pillar," Dialga added from where he was leaning against one of the larger stalagmites, his arms crossed over his chest below his diamond, "which is causing the flow of her aura to become unbalanced."

"If that is the case then..." Mesprit trailed off, twitching one of her tails thoughtfully. She frowned, her eyes falling closed for a moment. "I am afraid that I cannot help you directly, Shan, but I _can_ find out if you would be able to recover your abilities at all or not."

"How?" the she-Lucario asked, fighting to stave off the desperation in her tone, her ears pricking forward.

"Hm? Oh, that is easy, all I will need to do is take a little peek at your emotions," the two-tailed Psychic-type replied, casting a glare in Dialga's direction when she heard him snort softly. With a flick of one of her tails, she motioned for Shan to take a seat upon the cavern floor. "And watch the puddles. This place _used_ to be underneath the water... until those 'Galactic' humans decided to blow all the water out of my lake..."

"And do not forget that our sisters' lakes suffered the same fate," Dialga growled. "Are Uxie and Azelf well after what those _bastards_ did to the three of you?"

"They are, but I need you to be quiet," came Mesprit's reply as she gestured towards the she-jackal with a flick of one of her tails. "I need complete concentration if you wish for me to help your... _friend_," she said, fighting back a snicker.

"Mesprit..." the dragon-Lucario growled, narrowing his eyes in warning, but the little pixie wasn't paying any attention. With an exasperated sigh, he settled down to wait.

"I need for you to close your eyes and relax," the pixie said gently, sounding quite different from the mischievous creature who had been teasing Dialga at the beginning of their visit.

"You mean you want me to meditate?" Shan asked, wanting to be sure. Mesprit nodded, and the gray-furred Lucario took a slow, deep breath, her eyes closing before she slowly exhaled. There was a bright flash of light, and the she-Lucario had to force herself to keep her eyes closed.

* * *

_"You can open them now," came Mesprit's voice from in front of Shan. "But do not be afraid."_

_Shan did as she was told, and she had to focus all her willpower to keep herself from crying out in surprise. No longer were she and the little Lake Sprit inside Lake Verity's cavern, but at the top of a small hill within a grassy field underneath an evening sky - or at least it appeared to be so._

_"_Magenta_ for the sky's coloration?" Shan asked, arching a brow._

_"Hey, there is absolutely _nothing_ wrong with that color!" the pixie snapped, placing her little hands on her hips. "This is _my_ own little world, so I can make the sky whatever color I want! Uxie likes to make the sky in her world harvest gold, and Azelf like to make her sky azure. So why can I not make mine magenta?"_

_"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," Shan muttered, lowering her gaze to the grass in front of her._

_"Do not worry about it," Mesprit said, waving her arms in a gesture of dismissal. "Let us get to the point of this visit, hm?"_

_"Of course..." the jackal 'mon replied softly. She blinked when there was a second flash of light, but one far dimmer than the first had been. Curiosity caused the Fighting-type to raise her head, and this time she _did_ cry out in surprise when she saw a semi-transparent image of _herself_ in the sky, her distinctive green-blue aura surrounding it. As she watched, a point of light as bright as the Morning Star winked into existence right at the top of the image's head, at the crown. Six more of these same points of light winked into existence at other areas of the image to form a vertical line. It was then that Shan understood: the points of light represented the seven chakras.._

"_I can see the problem as clear as day,_" _Mesprit said, floating over to sit down next to her in the grass. As they both watched, the fourth point of light down from the top of the image dimmed, as did the green-blue aura. _ "_Your heart chakra has been damaged, and the flow of your aura has been disrupted because of this. Big brother was right about that after all. Some of the damage was caused by whatever battle Dialga spoke of, but most of the damage was not. Most of the damage was already in place, so what happened to you recently was the final blow._"

"_What do you mean?" Shan asked, raising a paw to touch it to her chest, to where the bone-like spike used to be. "_What _damage before my fight with Honchkrow?"_

_"_This_ damage," Mesprit said softly, indicating for the auraless Pokémon to keep her attention upon the sky. As Shan watched, the image of herself faded to be replaced with an image of her former trainer, Riley. Shan gasped softly, her eyes wide as she stared up at the image. As she watched, the image became smaller and smaller until it vanished completely._

_"R-Riley..." Shan whimpered in spite of herself, feeling tears beginning to crawl down her cheeks. Sheepishly, she moved to wipe them away with a paw, and her sadness was replaced by anger for the next image that presented itself in the sky -- that of a male Lucario. Although Shan didn't recognize his face right away, she felt the fur on the back of her neck rise, her eyes narrowing and her ears slicking back as she realized that she was staring at an image... of her father. Before she even realized she had given vent to the sound, a low growl left her._

_"Those two hurt you before, and that is the damage I spoke of. You recognized the human male; Riley, you said he is called?" Mesprit asked, moving to place a tiny hand upon the pale Lucario's shoulder in hopes of calming her down. "But that Lucario drew a very violent response from you, even though it was not voiced, save for you growling. Was he a rival?"_

_"Yeah, Riley was my first trainer, and no," Shan muttered softly, her eyes closing as she lowered her head, her ears remaining slicked back against her skull. "He was my father, and I _hate_ him. He rejected me back when I was a Riolu pup because I was born very weak, and because he blamed me for killing my mother. She... didn't survive the birth..." She sniffled, squeezing her eyes shut as she bared her teeth, a few more tears escaping to fall onto the grass. "He had wanted a strong son, and he ended up stuck with _me_... a weakling female who isn't even the right damn _color_! And if he _ever_ catches wind of the fact that I've lost my aura abilities, he'll _never_ let me live it down!"_

_"Shan, stop."_

_The canid did as she was told, though she continued to glare up at the sky, even after the image of her father had faded. Only when an image of her second trainer, Shera, appeared did Shan's gaze soften._

_"Oh, it is _she_! The one who saved us all!" Mesprit cried, both tails swishing back and forth and reminding Shan of an excited Growlithe puppy. "I am sorry for the way I acted earlier. I did not know that Shera was your trainer, or I would have been more courteous."_

_"It's not a problem," Shan replied softly, giving the little pixie a small though half-hearted smile before she returned her attention to the image in the sky. As she watched, Shera's image faded and was replaced by that of Zaratan, and then Tanaka, Isto, and finally River's image, which faded to be replaced by an image of Shera's mother._

_"Everyone shown within the skies just now cares about you, even though it took you a while to trust them, am I right?"_

_"Yeah... it took a month and a half for me to trust everybody because I was so hurt by Riley's choice to give me away like he did," Shan said sheepishly, ashamed of her behavior back near the end of her childhood._

_"That sounds like Di... alga..." Mesprit trailed off, her golden-yellow eyes growing wide. "Um... that... that _cannot _be right... can it?"_

_"What are you talking ab-- oh..." Shan's question ended abruptly when she looked back into the sky, seeing an image of the time dragon in his true form, which shifted into an image of his Lucario form before disappearing. She kept quiet, feeling her cheeks growing hot. "Nobody's supposed to know that..."_

_"The image to follow ones that symbolize friendship is one that symbolizes... love. _How_ can you harbor such a feeling for_ Dialga_? He is not exactly the nicest being around, you know..."_

_"I know, believe me, but I've looked up to him ever since I was little," Shan replied, her blush deepening to crimson as she spoke. "I was disappointed when I learned that he was quite different from how the stories Riley would always tell me about Dialga would portray him, but I... I don't _care_. If he was nothing but an antagonistic monster, he would _not_ have brought me here to see you. He would have done nothing."_

_"You do have a point there," Mesprit replied. "Once upon a time, Dialga used to be nice... well... sort of, he has always had quite a temper, but, anyway, he used to be nice, but he changed because of things that happened to him recently."_

_"Like what? Did he tell you?"_

_"He did, but I am not at liberty to tell another living soul. You would have to ask Dialga himself, but I highly doubt he would tell anyone else."_

_"I understand," the she-Lucario replied thoughtfully. "So... what now?"_

_"I believe we are finished. Wake up!"_

* * *

Dialga yawned, fighting the urge to just sit down with his back against the stalagmite so he could catch a few minutes of sleep, since he had been unable to get any at all the previous night. When he saw both his little sister and the she-Lucario beginning to stir, however, he shook his head and moved to push himself away from where he had been leaning against the rocky formation. He arched a brow when Mesprit darted over to hover in front of him, and it was hard not to notice that certain look she would get in those large, golden-yellow eyes whenever she wanted something.

'_She is just as bad, if not worse, than Azelf..._' "What is it _this time_?" he asked, giving vent to a deep sigh.

"I need to talk to you," she replied, glancing back over her shoulder at the pale-furred jackal 'mon. "In private. You. Me. Subconscious realm. _Now_._"_

"Very well," Dialga said with a shrug of his shoulders before he moved to sit cross-legged with his back resting against the stalagmite, "but do make this quick. I need to return her to her trainer very soon."

"_WHAT?!_" He flinched when he suddenly heard his sister's voice in his mind. "How_ could you take Shan away from Shera without telling her?!_"

"Well... she wanted to tell her trainer, but I was in a hurry so... we just left."

Mesprit stared at him for a moment before she raised a hand to slap her forehead. "_I always knew that one day all that steel you wear on your head in your true form would eventually affect the way you think, and boy was I right._"

"This was important!" the dragon growled through clenched teeth. "I am beginning to feel that this is _my_ fault, and you had _better not _tell a single living soul, mortal or immortal, that I _ever_ said that..."

"_We will continue this where she has less chance of hearing you. Now, close your eyes and relax..."_

"I know the drill, little sister. The three of you would always practice this on Palkia and myself back when we were children," Dialga grumbled as he made himself comfortable before he slowly closed his eyes. There was a flash of light, and the time creature opened his eyes at his sister's instruction.

* * *

_Rather than being inside the cavern at Lake Verity, the two of them were in a field of magenta flowers. Dialga rolled his eyes at the sight of the blossoms, ignoring the glare Mesprit was sending his way. The dragon blinked and glanced down at himself, realizing that he was no longer in his Lucario form, but in his true form. _

_"I was wondering how long it would take you to notice," Mesprit said, smirking at her brother. "You are still in your other form physically. I am not used to you having that other form yet, so I had to make do with your true self."_

_"Fine with me," the dragon said nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders before he moved to sit down, his tail curling around his clawed feet. He made a mental note to find a hidden place somewhere close to Eterna City so he would be able to safely spend at least a few hours a day as _himself_. "I myself am still getting used to that Lucario form Father forced onto me. Just because 'Lucario' happened to be the first species I mentioned did _not_ mean he had to go and... never mind. So maybe I was ranting about _her_ at the time, but still..."_

_"I think it is a good lesson for him to teach you, Dialga. You may be Arceus's only son-"_

_"Do _not_ remind me..."_

_Mesprit narrowed her eyes at him before giving vent to an exasperated sigh. "That does not mean he will go easy on you."_

_"He went easy on Palkia; all she had to do was clean up that mess we made concerning all those humans and their dwellings. Serves them right for choosing to live together in such a large bunch in the first place."_

_"Oh, please... Your exile is affecting her and you know it. I know Palkia, and she misses you," the little Psychic-type said, hovering a few inches away from him. "This is the second time the two of you have been separated since the Giratina incident, and this time there is no renegade ghost-thing trying to kill one of you." She tilted her head to one side when she saw the big dragon shudder, and, with a flick of her twin tails, she rose to hover closer to his head. "I am sorry for mentioning his name, Dialga, but that is the only valid example there is."_

_"What makes you believe that I, Dialga, am afraid of that overgrown centipede?" the Temporal Pokémon growled, fighting to suppress yet another shudder at the mere thought of the other dragon. He blinked when he saw Mesprit suddenly go rigid, her golden-yellow eyes becoming wide. "... Mesprit?"_

_"H-he's... he's..."_

_"Very funny."_

_"You are right," the pixie said, relaxing instantly. "He is not standing right there behind you after all."_

_"What?!" the time dragon cried, quickly looking behind him... to see nothing there._

_"Made you look!" Mesprit crowed, falling out of the air due to being consumed by a fierce bout of laughter. "You are still as easy to fool as ever!"_

_"Why you little psychic imp..." Dialga snarled, lowering his head to where it was inches away from the little creature. "That was _not_ amusing at all."_

_"Well, it was to _me_," she replied, wiping tears away from her eyes. "Amusing enough to make my stomach hurt. But that proves that you _do_ fear Giratina, dear brother of mine."_

_"Dear brother yourself! Is this why you wished to speak to me privately? Just to tease me?" he demanded, his tail lashing back and forth as he felt his anger beginning to rise. "You are wasting my time if that is so..."_

_"No, it was something I have been wanting to do to you for a while now," Mesprit replied, grinning up at him before she sniffled and rose back into the air, flicking both tails to help her gain momentum as she drifted away from the dragon, before she began to drift around him in a lazy circle. "You do not scare me at all, Dialga. There is still kindness somewhere inside you, and you have shown it by bringing Shan here."_

_"So? That Lucario female means _nothing_ to me. I only tolerate her, that damned she-Honchkrow she sees as her best friend, and the rest of that 'Shera' human's Pokémon, because they offered me a place to stay for the duration of this exile. I am merely using their generosity to my advantage."_

_"Bullshit," Mesprit snapped suddenly, and Dialga blinked at her. It wasn't like the little Emotion Pokémon to curse. "That is complete and utter bullshit, Dialga. You have _always _been a terrible liar, we both know that. Arceus knows that. Palkia, Uxie, and Azelf know that. You care for those mortals as you care for us, but you are too proud - too _afraid_ to admit it."_

_Dialga lashed his tail again before he broke his sister's gaze by turning his head away, focusing upon watching the clouds slowly drift across the sky instead. _

_"See? When you go quiet like this, that means I am right. They deserve a chance, big brother. You could use a few friends during this time."_

_"Care for them? Mesprit, I barely even know them."_

_"Emotions are far more complicated than you think," the Lake Spirit replied, waggling a tiny finger at him. "They can happen at the fall of a leaf. I cannot control how or when they happen, or who they happen to, even though I was the one who brought them to this world. I can only take them away from a mortal temporarily."_

_"Yes, I know," Dialga replied, sighing. "Mesprit. Please. Can the Lucario be healed or not?"_

_"Shan cannot be healed directly, no. Her heart chakra was damaged, and the flow of her aura disrupted."_

_"Then I was correct."_

_"Mostly. The battle she was in was the finishing blow to what damage had already been dealt to her when she was younger. She will only be able to regain the use of her abilities if she learns to overcome the turmoil inside her."_

_"And you are telling me this why? You told her, did you not?"_

_"Uh... not really," Mesprit said sheepishly, avoiding the dragon's ruby gaze. "I forgot to because... well... I became sidetracked."_

_"What? _How_ could you _forget_?" Dialga asked in exasperation, his eyes wide in disbelief. "That was the entire reason for this visit in the first damn place!"_

_"Well, you can tell her now. I doubt Shan will take it hard if you tell her instead of me. She loves you, you know. Oops!" Mesprit's golden-yellow eyes widened as she quickly clamped both hands over her mouth, a muffled 'oh no...' leaving her as she sank to the ground._

_"You can never keep a secret, can you?" Dialga snorted, rolling his eyes. "Wait... _WHAT_?!" _

_He stared at her as if she had just grown another tail, his eyes wide in pure disbelief, before he narrowed them, looking away as he gave voice to a low growl, the tip of his tail twitching._

_"Please do not tell Shan I said that!" the little pixie pleaded, flitting round to hover in front of his face. "I was not supposed to let anyone know! It accidentally slipped--" She cut herself off, blinking at him a few times before a wide smirk split across her face. "Why, Dialga, are you... are you _blushing_?"_

_"Of course not!" he growled, turning his head to look the other way when Mesprit darted in front of him._

_"You are!" the little Psychic-type giggled. "Now that is a rare sight. Anyway, I believe this concludes the private conversation I requested. Now you had better get Shan home before her trainer goes insane looking for the both of you."_

_"About damn time," Dialga grumbled, holding back a sigh. He closed his eyes to keep from being blinded by the flash of light that signaled the return to the physical realm, Mesprit's accompanying shout of 'Wake up!' still ringing in his ears._

* * *

The time being's eyes slid open, and he glanced down, feeling a pang of disappointment to see that he was once again a Lucario. Holding back a yawn, he moved to stand before he stretched and shook himself, taking care to step around the still waking form of Mesprit, who had been curled up in front of where he had been sitting. He saw Shan close to the entrance, and he took a few steps towards her, only to stop himself when he saw that she was once again meditating, not wanting a repeat of what happened the last time he had gotten too close to her while she wasn't fully aware of her surroundings.

"_**She loves you, you know.**_" Mesprit's words echoed in his mind, and Dialga's brow furrowed as he watched the pale she-Lucario, wondering why she would feel such a strong emotion towards him when she did not really know him. She was a strange one. He quickly glanced down at the floor when he saw her beginning to stir, and only after he had taken a deep breath to collect himself did he finally approach her.

"We are late," he stated curtly, irritated with how damn long this visit had taken.

"All right," she replied, moving to stand before she brushed herself off, and Dialga held back a growl of impatience when the female jackal 'mon turned to face Mesprit, who was hovering nearby, though she was keeping away from the cavern entrance.

"Thank you, Lady Mesprit," Shan said, bowing her upper body in a show of politeness.

"It was no trouble at all, really," the pixie replied, waving her arms in a gesture of dismissal. "A friend of Shera's is a friend of mine."

"We do not have all day!" Dialga snapped angrily, causing Shan to flinch from the sudden sound and harshness of his voice. Mesprit rolled her eyes at him before she smirked at him and began to drift away from them, back into the darker areas of her cavern.

"_Take care, you two,_" she said into their minds. "_And remember this: keep the faith._"

Once the two Pokémon were outside the entrance of the cavern, Dialga gave vent to a long, drawn-out sigh.

"I am... sorry... that Mesprit was unable to help you restore your abilities," he muttered, refusing to even look at Shan. "I feel as if I have fai--" He stopped himself from finishing his sentence, and he went completely rigid when he felt the pale she-Lucario suddenly throw her arms round his waist before she pulled him against her, her head resting against his chest. His mind reeled in confusion even when he felt the short fur upon his cheeks growing hot.

"I don't think you failed, Lord Dialga," she whispered. "Thank you so much for trying to help me..."

"I... uh..." Dialga heard himself stammer, feeling extremely awkward. He made no move to return the hug, nor did he make a move to break away either. His ears slicked back when he heard Mesprit's laughter trickle through his mind, and, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the little Psychic-type hovering just inside the cavern entrance, both hands held together against one side of her head before she smirked at him and faded back into the darkness.

'_Why that little...!_' he thought, holding back a growl. '_Sometimes I cannot decide if I hate or love her. I know she is my little sister and all, but she can be so..._ annoying _at times._'

He felt a small pang of disappointment when he felt Shan suddenly release him and step back, as if she had just touched something burning hot.

"I-I... um... I didn't mean... er... s-sorry, Lord Dialga..." the gray-furred Lucario stammered, raising a paw to touch the red ribbon she wore upon her right arm, her gaze focused upon the horizon beyond as if it were the most interesting thing she had ever seen in her life.

'_I... did not mind, actually..._'the dragon thought, though he kept it to himself. "Do not worry about it... Shan."


	6. Sunrise

_Author's Note: This chapter was extremely hard for me to write, even more than chapter two was. Ugh. I toyed around with a few different ideas of how I wanted this to go until I finally decided on what's posted here. The nightmare at the beginning kind of sucks, apologies for that, as it's my second attempt at writing a dream sequence with the first being in anther fandom. There's not much action in this chapter, save for what's at the beginning and a little amidst the huge conversation. I know that conversation-centric chapters can make or break a story, hopefully it won't break mine. I admit that I almost decided to not continue this story because of something that happened over the weekend that upset me greatly, but I've come too far to quit now..._

_Special thanks go out to my best friend, Ayaluki, the best beta-reader I could ever ask for._

_As always, Pokémon is © to that wonderful mastermind, Satoshi Tajiri._

* * *

_"_Why_ do you not strike back and protect yourself?" Dialga spat, the sail-like structure upon his back increasing in size, the blue diamond embedded within his steel chest plate beginning to glow, the same lapis aura surrounding him. His jaws parted, a beam of the same lapis lazuli color beginning to form in front of his mouth before he exhaled, sending the Roar of Time careening towards Palkia... who merely turned to where she took the brunt of the attack against her left shoulder. _

_There was a shattering sound, accompanied by a screech of agony from the Spatial Pokémon. She hovered there, her head lowered, eyes closed tightly, and Dialga noticed that the maroon pearl upon her shoulder was cracked in several places. He felt a pang of regret... which he quickly crushed, a low growl leaving him. _

_"L-little brother..." Palkia rasped, slowly reaching up with her right arm to gently touch the pearl upon her left shoulder. She raised her head to rest her gaze upon him, and he saw that her ruby-red eyes were filled with anguish. "_Why_...?!"_

_"Because you are no sister of mine. You are a _weakling_," he snarled, giving chase as she fled through the sickly black clouds which now filled the area that had become their battleground... the product of time and space having been distorted by their fighting. He pursued his sister until he lost sight of her, and, in his confusion, he glanced about..._

_... and noticed that his surroundings had become _very_ different. _

_Rather than being surrounded by the expanse of sickly black clouds, Dialga found himself in a _very_ strange place. The ground, if it could have been considered that anyway, appeared to be a perfect mirror of itself, water and sky included, with small landmasses dotted here and there. Where... was he now...?_

_"... Palkia...?"_

_"There is no 'Palkia'..." came a voice that sounded like wind blowing through hollow dead branches, causing a shiver to snake down Dialga's spine. The time dragon glanced about frantically, trying to pinpoint the source of the voice. _

_"For poisoning my world, there is only _one_ thing here for _you_, foolish dragon..." came the voice again, before Dialga suddenly felt himself enveloped within black shadows that felt _cold_... like death... Voicing a screech mixed between fear and confusion, the Temporal Pokémon struggled to free himself; however, the spectral shadows only tightened their hold upon him before they began to assume a rather serpentine appearance, and Dialga found himself face to face with a Pokémon his father only spoke of in hushed whispers -- the Renegade Pokémon, Giratina. The creature growled, blood-red eyes narrowing to nothing but slits, and Dialga felt the sound reverberating throughout his entire body before, with a roar, Giratina lunged, the golden pincer-like appendages upon either side of his face parting as his maw opened wide..._

* * *

"NO!!" the dragon-Lucario cried, eyes flying open as he sat bolt upright, sweat beading on his brow. Panting heavily, Dialga remained still, waiting for his heart to stop trying to claw its way out of his chest, and only then did he exhale and lower his head into his paws.

"Just... just a nightmare..." he whispered, waiting a moment before he slowly raised his head to glance about, seeing that he was in the guest bedroom of the Garland dwelling. Heaving a sigh, he moved to swing his legs over the side of the bed before he dropped down and moved to the window. A light fog had covered the ground, the pale gray color reminding him of Shan. Frowning, Dialga remembered what Mesprit had told him that morning about the she-Lucario suffering from some kind of inner turmoil and that she had forgotten to tell Shan about it herself... which left it up to him. For a fleeting second, Dialga couldn't help but wonder if Mesprit had forgotten to tell Shan about it _on purpose_.

Holding back a sigh, the dragon-Lucario turned away from the window, though not without casting one last look at the pale fog outside, before he crossed the guest bedroom and moved to unlock the door, an action which he was still having a bit of trouble with thanks to the fact that a Lucario's forepaws lacked any sort of opposable thumb. Then again, he wasn't able to handle anything at all in his true form - not without feeling extremely awkward, anyway. After a few tries, he managed to get the damn thing unlocked before he moved to turn the knob (which was by far an easier task) and opened the door.

The dwelling was dark and silent, and Dialga made sure to tread quietly so as to not disturb the human girl and her mother as he made his way to what he had often heard Shan refer to as the 'living room'. The dragon always wondered just what was so 'alive' about it, but he knew that the pale-furred Lucario liked to sleep there on something she called a 'couch'. He paused just inside the large room, his eyes moving to rest upon the couch to see that it was currently unoccupied; however, from the rumpled sheet and the misshapen pillow, it was apparent that Shan had been there.

Dialga hesitated, taking a few moments to ponder just _why_ he was choosing to seek her out when he could just go back to the guest bedroom and lie in bed until he had once again fallen asleep. Though he had only known Shan for a few days, hardly even a week, despite the way he had treated her she had always been so kind to him, so patient, and the dragon knew that he had chosen to take the she-Lucario to see Mesprit because he was beginning to see Shan as more than just an acquaintance.

He was beginning to see her as a friend.

Shaking his head to rouse himself from his musings, the deity crossed over to stand beside the piece of furniture, and he caught a trace of the she-Lucario's scent, which was only beginning to grow stale, so apparently Shan had not been up and about for long.

And he knew just where to find her...

* * *

The she-Lucario held back a yelp mixed between pain and frustration when her latest attempt to use Force Palm had only managed to produce the same meager amount of sparks as the day before. Even though she had thanked both Mesprit and Dialga for trying to help her, the stubborn part of Shan's will absolutely refused to give up on finding a way to somehow revive her lost aura-abilities, starting with Force Palm.

"Come on, aura, work with me here!" she snarled, stamping a foot before she reassumed the half-crouching stance used by fighters when they would practice attacks which involved punching. Muttering a string of curses to herself, the Lucario once again began punching at the air with her right forepaw as practice before she would again attempt to reawaken her lost attack. Aura Sphere was out of the question, as she had sacrificed its knowledge for that of Shadow Claw.

"What are you doing?" came a low voice from behind her.

"What does it _look_ like I'm doing?" she snapped, not bothering to acknowledge Dialga's presence as she continued to punch at the air in front of her. "I'm trying to get Force Palm to work again."

"I _know_ that," came the response before the dragon-Lucario moved to stand directly in front of her, and, with a surprised cry, Shan had to stop herself from striking him in the chest. She rose to her full height, ears slicked back as she glared up at him.

"What the hell?! I almost hit you!"

"But at least I got you to stop," Dialga replied gruffly, taking a few steps back to increase the distance between the two of them. "I do not like being the bearer of bad news, but our dear Mesprit 'forgot' to inform you that there _is_ a way for you to recover your abilities. But _not_ _like_ _that_."

"Did she tell you? What did she say?" Shan asked, desperation within her voice as she took a step towards him, her wine-red eyes locking with his own ruby ones. "Tell me, please..."

A heavy sigh left Dialga before he turned his head away, thus breaking her gaze. "She said that in order for you to regain the use of your abilities, you have to overcome the turmoil inside your heart."

"What are you talking about?" Shan asked, her brow furrowing in confusion. "_What_ turmoil?"

"She would not tell me," came the reply when the dragon once again focused his attention upon her.

"I honestly don't know what 'turmoil' the two of you think I harbor," Shan grumbled, moving away before she once again assumed the stance she had been in when she had been interrupted. She moved to pull her right arm back when, suddenly, she felt something slam into her from behind, knocking her forward and off-balance and causing her to fall onto her stomach in the fog-damp grass. Snarling, Shan began to struggle, trying to throw whatever it was off her even as she felt both her arms being pinned behind her, a knee against the small of her back. "Get off me!"

"No," came Dialga's annoyed response, and the she-Lucario immediately ceased her struggles, feeling sheepish for her violent reaction. "I _have_ to restrain you to keep you from hurting yourself, you foolish whelp! Making yourself as vulnerable as you did while in my presence was _not_ at all intelligent. It left you open, and I seized the moment. If this had been a true battle, and if you and I had been enemies, you would be dead because I would _not_ have hesitated to snap your spine in half."

'_Whelp?! So you think I'm a child?!_' Shan thought angrily, though she kept it unvoiced. Technically, she _was_ a child next to the creature who had her pinned against the grass. Dialga was practically the beginning of time, one of the oldest creatures in existence. "You sound just like my father," she growled, forcing herself to go limp underneath him. "He said the _exact same_ bullshit to me back when I was little, except he called me 'pup' instead of 'whelp', but I know that they mean the same thing. I'm a _Lucario_, not a Riolu, damn it! I'm _not_ a child any more!"

"Then," came Dialga's voice, now close to her left ear, "stop behaving like your pre-evolution and begin behaving like a Lucario. And next to me, yes, you _are_ a child. Now, I am going to let you go, but if you continue trying to hurt yourself, I will _not_ hesitate to restrain you again."

"I'm _not_ trying to hurt myself," the pale-furred canid snapped, wriggling underneath the deity as she tried to find a more comfortable position. "I _have_ to keep trying. I _won't_ give in and say that I'm no longer able to use my aura-abilities. I _can't_ give in."

"Shan."

She blinked, taken aback by the fact that Dialga had just spoken her name without hesitating, unlike earlier that morning when she had hugged him back at Lake Verity.

"_Why_ are you so adamant about this?" he asked, his voice unusually gentle even though he still refused to let her get up. "Just _what_ are you trying to prove?"

"Because of who I mentioned earlier, Lord Dialga," she muttered softly. "Because of my father. I know I haven't seen him in a while, but if he _ever_ learns that I've lost the very abilities that our species is known for... he... he'll _never_ let me live it down."

"That would be very petty of him to do so," the dragon replied, moving to allow Shan to get up off the ground, though he remained on guard in case she were to continue trying to revive her lost attack.

"That's something you should tell him directly," she said, moving to stand before she brushed herself off, though she kept her back to the dragon, her gaze fixed upon the ground. "But I _highly_ doubt he'd even listen to someone like you - a _Legend_ - since he never once listened to Riley..."

"You speak as if your father dislikes you," came the reply as the time creature moved to close the distance between himself and Shan by a few steps. He blinked and tilted his head slightly to one side when he saw her flinch, and he began to wonder if it was something personal he was trying to get her to share. He retreated back a single step when the she-Lucario began to pace back and forth, reminding Dialga of his own behavior back when Arceus had informed him of his exile to this world.

"Try 'hate'," Shan snapped, whirling about to face the dragon. "'Dislike' is a _gentle_ word when it comes to describing _him_. Since the day I met him, my father did _nothing_ but mock me the few times he ever even _bothered_ to speak to me."

"Why? I do not understand. Parents are supposed to love their children, are they not?" Dialga asked before he shook his head, moving to close the distance between them before setting a paw upon her shoulder. "And no, 'hate' would be too strong of a word. Hatred is when you try to _kill_ someone without stopping until the task has been carried out."

_'So what gives you the right to ask such a question of someone who does not even know the answer? Think about it, Dialga,_' his conscience chided him. '_You should take a look at the way _you_ have been treating your own family lately, Palkia especially._'

'Why_ must you always choose the wrong time to make yourself known?_' Dialga shot back angrily. '_Can you not see that I am busy?!_'

The deity had to fight the urge to roll his eyes when he did not receive an answer from the voice. The damn thing never did anything but drive him crazy anyway, but he couldn't help but wonder just why it decided to make itself known to him now, during his exile, rather than before when that entire mess with his sister was happening? The gray Lucario merely stared down at his paw, and Dialga wondered if she was going to pull away from his touch like he had done to her the night before, until he saw her turn her head away with a long, drawn-out sigh.

"... Because he sees me as nothing but a weakling, that's why," she whispered. "And because he blames me for killing my mother."

"Did you?" he asked gruffly, moving to grasp her firmly by the shoulders, his ruby-red eyes narrowing dangerously. "Did you kill her?"

"No, I didn't!" she cried, drawing back as if he had suddenly struck her, a wounded expression upon her face. "Unless you count the fact that she didn't survive the birth because she'd lost so much blood... but no... I didn't... "

"That was something unable to be helped," the dragon said, keeping his attention upon her even though she refused to look at him now. "And yet another petty reason. It is hard to accept it when a loved one's time draws to an end, but that gives _no_ reason for blaming another..." He trailed off, looking the she-Lucario over as he gently released her. "You do not seem weak to me at all, despite the trouble you had back at the Spear Pillar against that Honchkrow."

"I haven't fought many Flying-types, and I have a permanent reminder of such inexperience," Shan replied, her voice soft as she raised a paw to touch her chest. "When I was born, I was very weak and practically half dead, and even though I was fortunate enough to have been born at the Pokémon Center in Canalave City since it was the closest one to Iron Island... It almost wasn't enough. Nurse Joy didn't think I was going to survive my first night of life... If you can call hanging on the cusp of life and death by nothing but a fine thread 'life'. Normal Riolus cry after they are born, but I couldn't even give the faintest whimper, nor did I open my eyes.

"For a week, I was kept in Intensive Care, and Riley never left the Center. When I was well enough to leave that terrible room, he tried to introduce me to my father, but... my father growled and turned his back to me..." She sniffled and turned her back to the dragon before she raised a paw to brush away tears that had escaped, and the next lines she spoke were so soft and barely audible that Dialga had to strain his hearing to understand them. "Because he had wanted a strong, healthy son... and what he ended up with was _me_... a weak daughter who isn't even the _right damn color_..."

"And he never had faith that you would overcome this and grow stronger?" he asked, though he didn't bother to comment on her physical appearance. Though her color was indeed a bit odd, it was nothing out of the ordinary. Then again, she was the only Lucario he had seen since his first coming to this world. Even so, she looked normal enough to him, aside from the fact that the battle she had fought against that male Honchkrow had taken part of her. Dialga couldn't help but wonder that if she had not had the bone-like growth, now missing from where it had once been upon her chest, would she have survived that battle at all? What she had lost, he believed, had prevented her from losing something far more important in that battle - her life.

"No." Shan's voice roused him from his musings. "He never had any faith in me at all. He wouldn't even so much as_ look _at me except to glare before he would snort and turn away. And the rare times he _did_ speak to me, he _never_ had a good word for me. He would always mock me and point out my faults."

"He is wrong," Dialga said simply.

"What...?" she replied, disbelief heavy within her voice as she turned to face the time creature, her eyes wide. "_How_ is he wrong?"

"You overcame your weakness, did you not? Though I have yet to see you fight without your aura-abilities, I saw how long you lasted back there at the Spear Pillar when your body itself was at its limit. Your will is what kept you going, it is what kept you alive during that first week, and it is what he so overlooked. You may have had a weak body, but your will has _always_ been strong. There is, however, something you are not explaining to me."

"... What would that be?" Shan asked, feeling a wave of anxiety overtake her. '_Please, don't ask me about--_'

"Who is this 'Riley' you keep mentioning?"

'_Damn it..._' "He... was my first trainer... and the one who trains my father..." the she-Lucario whimpered, once again turning away from the deity, wrapping her arms about herself as she moved to crouch in the grass. "He was the one who raised me... the one I saw as my only parent... the... the one who... gave... me... _away_...

"He gave me away because I was so weak. Even though I was no longer in danger of dying, after he brought me back to Iron Island I was always frail and sickly... Normal Riolus have boundless amounts of energy, but I would always tire very easily, and I could never finish my training exercises, no matter how hard I'd try..." she continued, her eyes squeezing shut as tears crawled down her cheeks. "I would always end up short of breath... and the day he gave me away to Shera... it... it tore me apart inside... I felt that he was turning his back on me just like my father had... that he _abandoned_ me..."

The dragon gave a soft 'hmm' as he listened, closing the distance between them before he moved to crouch beside her, setting a paw upon her upper back. He knew not even the first thing about how to comfort someone, but he remembered that, back when he was very little, Palkia would always place one of her clawed hands upon his back, between his shoulder blades, to comfort him whenever something upset or frightened him. If it worked for someone like him, perhaps it would work for a gentle 'mon like the pale Lucario female here beside him.

"But you are happy here, are you not?" he asked when he saw that Shan had relaxed a bit, when she raised a paw to brush away her tears, though he didn't know if it was from his touch or from something else entirely.

"What do you mean?" the she-jackal asked, sniffling and turning her head to look at him. "Of course I am... but I admit that I wasn't at first."

"Seeing the way you and Shera interact, that is quite hard for me to believe."

"I know," Shan replied, blushing a little. "To tell you the truth, for the first month and a half I _hated_ being with Shera. I wouldn't listen to her at all because I so badly wanted to go back home to Riley. Even when I noticed that being away from the confines of Iron Island was doing wonders for my health, I still didn't care, but she never once gave up on trying to win my friendship.

"Isto was the first one who managed to gain my trust, and she'd always listen to me whenever I'd have something to complain about." She allowed a ghost of a smile to appear upon her muzzle for a fleeting moment as she thought of the dark bird, before it disappeared and she turned her head to gaze out at the still foggy yard. "I still clearly remember the morning I lost a battle against a Mime Jr. that Shera had wanted me to help her catch. Boy, was that ever embarrassing... It was the first time I had decided to try listening to her, and I was so scared that she was going to turn me away, but... she didn't... and that's when I began to trust her. And before I knew it, the one thing I had always thought impossible happened. I... evolved... I wasn't weak anymore... And that is why I'm so upset about this whole damn mess, Lord Dialga. I feel like I'm that weak little Riolu again..."

"That is the turmoil you harbor, little Lucario," the dragon replied, his voice keeping its gentle tone even when he felt her tense. He knew that her reaction was to him calling her little, and part of him found the fact that that one word could get her to react in such a way to be quite amusing. "The ill feelings against your father, and against this 'Riley' human. If you can overcome them, then your aura will heal itself in time."

"Overcome my ill feelings against them? As in... forgive... them?"

"Perhaps. Or at least come to terms with them. Shan, did you ever pause to think that Riley had given you away for your own good?"

"After I started trusting Shera and the rest of the team, yeah, I started realizing that... but it still _hurts_ to think about it..." Shan said, moving to stand. "I loved Riley so much, and I even called him my father because he was the one who took care of me... Whenever I think of my father, I don't ever remember that damn Lucario who refused to accept me as his own flesh and blood. The only one I ever think about is Riley. Up until this morning when Lady Mesprit and I had that conversation in the subconscious realm with those images, I couldn't even _remember_ what that Lucario even _looks_ like..." She sighed and pulled away. "Perhaps I would be able to forgive Riley for what he had to do, but after the way my father treated me, no, I can _never_ forgive _him_."

"Then you will never be able to heal completely, and all of your abilities will be forever lost," Dialga warned, a frown crossing over his muzzle when the she-Lucario pulled away from him, but he allowed her to do so, moving to stand when she did. "And I admit that I did not expect for you to open up to me like you did. I... I am honored that you would trust me with something so deep and personal."

"Do I have to repeat myself yet _again_?" Shan asked in exasperation, though she was smiling. "Why wouldn't I open myself up to the one Pokémon I admire above all others?"

'_You are not being completely honest with me again,_' he thought, feeling himself blushing slightly from what she had said, though he had caught the mite of hesitation in her second question, the mere hitch in her voice where she had caught herself from saying something a clear giveaway, knowing that she had kept herself from saying 'love and admire'. He wasn't annoyed this time, however, because thanks to Mesprit he now knew what Shan was keeping from him. He would continue feigning ignorance until the she-Lucario finally confessed, though he had a feeling that even by that time, he probably _still_ would not know exactly how to respond despite the fact that the knowledge pleased him, and seeing Shan fighting to keep from slipping up was quite amusing in itself.

"That is one question I fear I do not have an answer to," he said, coming out of his musings as he shook his head lightly to rid himself of the blush. "But once again, I am honored, Shan."

"You're welcome, Lord Dialga," she whispered softly, and, again, the deity had to strain his hearing to catch her reply. He twitched an ear when he saw her turn her attention away from him, and he allowed his gaze to follow hers out towards the eastern horizon. He nearly cried out in shock at seeing the faint glow of light cresting over the distant trees, surprised that he and Shan had been up for so long.

'_Not like I would have been able to get any more sleep anyway,_' he thought, fighting back a shudder as he recalled the nightmare he had had earlier, before he quickly pushed it back into the far reaches of his mind where it belonged. He kept his attention upon the horizon, watching the mingling shades of red, orange, and pink slowly creeping over the dark sky and releasing the night's hold over the land, softly illuminating the fog which was still stubbornly keeping the ground covered with a pale gray blanket.

'_There are beautiful things within this world. Things like this..._' Dialga thought to himself, remaining silent as he watched the coming of the morning sun. He found his gaze wondering over to rest upon Shan, seeing that, like the fog around them, the she-Lucario's pale gray fur had taken on a soft, almost ethereal glow from the light cast by the sunrise. '_And creatures like... her..._' he added silently, in spite of himself, and he quickly looked back towards the horizon when Shan began to take notice of the fact that he was watching her.

Shan arched a brow in silent question when she saw that the dragon had quickly looked away, but she dismissed it and turned her attention back to the eastern horizon as the light continued to spread and brighten.

"Will you be all right?" he asked, the suddenness of the question catching Shan off guard.

"Y-yeah, I will. Thank you, Lord Dialga," she replied, turning her head and meeting his gaze, a soft smile spreading across her muzzle. She felt her spirit soar when the dragon returned the gesture, and Shan knew that not only was this sunrise the beginning of a new day... it was the beginning of a newly forged friendship between herself and her hero.


	7. The Dying Daylight

_Author's Note: I'm so, so sorry for taking so long getting this chapter finished, but listening to the original soundtrack for Age of Conan and a lot of New Age music really helped me to find the inspiration I needed... and to catch my runaway muse. /locks her muse in a reinforced steel cage/ And you're gonna stay in there until this story's finished! This chapter was a real bitch and a half, moreso than chapters two and six put together. There's not much action in this one either, save for at the very end. In this chapter, Shan and Dialga actually have a conversation that doesn't involve yelling or any sort of violence, how's that for progress, eh? And as for a part near the end, I want to make one thing clear before any of you ask me: No, Shan is __**not related**__ to the Lucario from the movie. I admit that it was very tempting to say that she was, but I didn't really like that idea the more I thought about it. For those of you who are being killed by the suspense, well, you get rewarded... with even more suspence because I'm just evil like that. Muahahaha!_

_Special thanks goes out to my best friend, Ayaluki, the best beta-reader I could ever ask for._

_As always, Pokémon is © to that wonderful mastermind, Satoshi Tajiri._

* * *

It had been two weeks since Shan had lost her aura-abilities, and, slowly, the she-Lucario was learning to adjust to life without them. Late afternoon found the pale jackal 'mon lounging upon the roof of the Garland residence, her arms folded behind her head as she lay back against the shingles, eyes closed in contentment. Tomorrow morning, her trainer would once again take up her journey, as the contest in Sunnyshore City was scheduled to take place two months from now. Tomorrow also meant a return to the heavier training schedule that Shera would go by when out on the road, rather than the lighter training she had been putting her team through for the past few weeks. And so Shan had chosen to spend her last day at home doing, well, absolutely nothing.

Her ears twitched when the sound of a window being opened came to them, causing Shan to give a soft 'hm' and open her eyes before she slowly sat up, pausing only to raise her arms above her head and stretch. Moving slowly so as to not make much noise, the gray-furred Lucario inched closer to the edge of the roof before she cautiously peered downward to see Dialga hoisting himself through the guest bedroom window. Shan leant back away from the edge when she saw the deity peer about after he had dropped to the ground, figuring that the dragon-Lucario would most likely look upwards as well. She remained still until after his footsteps had begun to fade, and only then did she choose to drop down from the roof, landing upon all four paws to better absorb the impact.

Shan rose to her feet, hesitating for a few moments as she pondered whether or not to let him be, knowing that everyone needed time alone to themselves; however, curiosity won out in the end, and the Lucario started off in the direction she had seen Dialga go off in, towards Mt. Coronet which lay in the distance.

* * *

Dialga glanced about the remote clearing he had chosen for the place where he could go to spend time alone as _himself_, and to take a break from having to maintain that Lucario form of his, to avoid being discovered by others aside from the small number of mortals he knew he was now able to trust. The area was a good distance away from that 'Eterna City' place, as well as being clear of any pathways humans probably used while traveling about. The creature allowed his gaze to rest upon the huge mountain which towered in the distance, that 'Mt. Coronet' as Shan and her trainer called it.

Dialga took a slow, deep breath before he exhaled and closed his eyes, concentrating upon his true form before he felt the changes begin. Once the transformation was complete, the dragon moved to stretch, relieved to be himself again even though he had been coming out here for the past two weeks. Until this afternoon, though, his outings had solely been late at night, when everyone else, save for that Honchkrow, was asleep. The dark bird never stayed outside the Garland dwelling, however, so he need not worry about her pestering him.

Giving a soft sigh, the Temporal Pokémon moved to lay down on the cool grass, his gaze rising to focus upon the sky above. Dusk would come soon, and the dragon pondered going back to fetch Shan; however, he didn't feel ready to reveal this secret place of his to her or anyone else. The sudden snap of a twig came from nearby, causing Dialga to quickly turn his head towards the sound, his eyes narrowing as he kept his attention upon a clump of bushes close to the edge of the clearing. A low growl rose deep within his throat as he moved to stand before he turned to face the bushes, the diamond upon his chest plate beginning to glow.

"Come out," he growled, his voice low and laced with his rising anger. "_Now._"

He tensed when the bushes began to rustle, and he readied himself to unleash a Roar of Time at whatever had dared to disturb him... until he saw the pale gray fur.

"Shan..." he whispered, letting out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding till then. Even though he allowed himself to relax, the glow of his diamond fading, his expression became stern as he watched the she-Lucario brush herself off and pluck a small twig out of her forelock. "You had better have a good explanation for following me and coming here without my permission. What if someone saw you?"

"I... um..." the little jackal stammered, glaring down at the twig she still held in her paw as if it had personally offended her. "I saw you sneaking out through the window. I was sunbathing up on the roof at the time and I... got curious about where you were going, so I followed..."

"Indeed..." he replied, his tail swishing back and forth once before he closed the distance between them and lowered his head to where he was practically face to face with her, his harsh ruby-red eyes locking with her own wine-colored ones. "This clearing is _very_ important to me, little Lucario. I need to come here for at least a few hours every day to spend time in my true form, so I do not end up forgetting what I truly am. You must promise me that you will _never_ tell another living soul about this place. Not even your human."

"... Okay," the canid replied softly, letting the twig fall to the ground beside her right foot. "I won't tell anyone else, I promise."

The deity maintained the stare-down as he listened to her, watching the Lucario's face for any subtle hint that she wasn't being sincere: the twitch of an ear, dilation of the pupils, anything. It was a tactic he often used on his sisters whenever they hid things from him. What he noticed about this mortal, however, was the opposite of what he had been expecting. There was a warmth to the tone of the jackal 'mon's voice that made him feel... secure, rather than wary, even though her gaze had become hard for a fleeting moment due to the fact that he had called her 'little'. After a moment, he gave a single nod before he once again returned to the spot he had occupied a few minutes ago, once again moving to lay down, his clawed feet causing the grass beneath them to rustle slightly from his movement.

He blinked when he felt something brush lightly against his right foreleg, and Dialga looked down to see that Shan had chosen to sit right beside him, the feeling of her short fur and clothing against his scales a strange sensation to him, accompanied by a feeling of contentment that Dialga had never felt all the other times he had been out here within the solitude of his clearing, and he wondered... was it because Shan was here with him? Maybe, maybe not, but the time dragon knew that he didn't mind the company of his fellow Pokémon in the face of the dying daylight, especially the one whom he saw as a friend.

"Oh, s-sorry..." she stuttered, beginning to rise to her feet so she could move away.

"Do not worry about it," he said, turning his head away and focusing his attention upon the darkening sky. "I... do not mind at all."

No response came from Shan even though she had once again settled down beside him, and Dialga found his attention once again upon her, noticing that she was gazing up into the sky, her ears pricked forward in that little habit of hers whenever she paid special attention to something or someone. Her pale gray fur stood out against his own dark scales, like the first rays of dawn against the night sky, and the dragon thought back to that night, two weeks ago, when the Lucario had told him pretty much everything, including her harsh past. To him, it had been a sign that she trusted him with such secrets, something he saw as an honor. There were two things about her, however, that still needed an explanation.

"How are you able to use human speech?" he found himself asking suddenly, before he had even realized that he had spoken.

"Hm?" She turned her attention from the darkening sky, her eyes meeting his. "Riley taught me how, as he taught my father before me. It... wasn't easy, believe me. Many of the words in the human language are complex, and it practically took forever for me to pronounce the letter 'l' correctly because it kept wanting to come out as 'r'. Had you known me back then, I wouldn't have been able to say words like 'lord' correctly. It... would have come out as 'rord'. 'Lucario' would have been 'Rucario'. I refused to talk to anyone else until I was finally able to begin pronouncing 'l' correctly because it was so damn embarrassing."

"Do humans you have never seen before give you odd looks whenever you speak?"

"No." Shan shook her head. "They actually believe that all Lucarios are able to use human speech, but I don't know if that's true or not because, aside from my father, I've yet to meet another one of my kind. Basically, humans have this really weird mindset about Pokémon who closely resemble themselves, and Psychics, being able to speak their language. I've heard that's mostly false, though, but humans don't make a big deal about my ability to speak with them. If I were something more animal-like, however, _that_ would raise a few brows. Not very many Pokémon are able to speak the human language because of how complex it is. Even though some species can learn it, most just don't choose to."

"He gave you a very useful gift. I myself cannot learn the language even though I can already understand it."

"You probably could in your other form, Lord Dialga," Shan said, turning her upper body to where she was facing him, her ears pricked. "I could teach you."

"I am afraid that is an offer I must decline," the dragon replied, shaking his head. "Once my father deems that I have been in exile long enough, he will most likely take that form from me because I will no longer need it."

"I understand," she replied, turning away once again before she shifted slightly, moving to tuck her left leg underneath her while she drew the right one closer to her, using her knee as a rest of sorts, her head resting upon her folded arms. "There's no need for a skill you wouldn't be able to use in your true form."

"Exactly," he replied, shifting a bit himself in order to remain comfortable. "But if I knew for certain that I would be able to keep that form, then I would have accepted your offer." '_Besides,_' he added silently, keeping the thought to himself, '_I prefer listening to Shan whenever I need her to translate things for me._'

He allowed his gaze to travel over her before he caught sight of the ribbon she always wore upon her right arm. "And this?" he asked, changing the subject as he flicked his tail, gently touching the tip of the appendage against the accessory for emphasis. He saw the Lucario give a start at the sudden contact before she raised her left paw to touch the ribbon for a moment, and Dialga guessed that it was another habit of hers.

"This? It's a friendship ribbon," Shan explained, keeping her paw against the object for a few more seconds before finally pulling it away. "Shera gave it to me when I finally decided to trust her because she was so happy and relieved that I no longer hated her. I always keep it close by whenever I don't wear it, and I don't know what I'd do if I were to ever lose it."

"She could always just give you another, could she not?"

"She could, but it wouldn't be as special as this one, nor would it be the same," the canid explained further, moving to smooth a few creases out of the trailing edge of the accessory. "This ribbon brings me comfort whenever I'm upset; that's why I touch it sometimes."

"I see..." Dialga murmured, a thoughtful tone to his voice. "You are very fortunate that your first trainer had such good judgement."

"I suppose so..." the she-Lucario replied with a slight shrug. "I love Shera and my teammates, and I love Riley, but I'll never understand what it's like to be loved and accepted by blood relatives since the only one I knew was my father. If you want to know the truth, I was... jealous... of you and Lady Mesprit, even though the two of you mainly argued. I could tell that you still cared for each other. I just wish I knew what that was like."

'_Shan? Jealous? That just does not fit her at all_,' he thought to himself before he returned his attention to the sky. "We cannot have all that we desire, Shan. I myself am the only male among _four_ sisters."

"That sounds like it would be hard, but surely your father can relate to you, right?"

"It... is not as easy as you think," Dialga replied hesitantly, lowering his head slightly and closing his eyes for a moment. "That is something I do not wish to go into right now... Perhaps another time."

"I understand if it makes you uncomfortable to talk about your own family," Shan replied softly, her ears flattening a little in worry before she moved to set a gentle paw upon his foreleg, "and I won't push the matter any further."

"Thank you, Shan," the Temporal Pokémon replied, his voice barely above a whisper as he turned his head to gaze down at where her paw rested against his scales. Both Pokémon fell silent after that, returning their attention to the darkening sky as the stars began winking into existence one by one.

'_One day, I _will _tell her everything about myself_,' he thought silently, his attention moving to rest upon the ground in front of him as he became lost within himself. '_Though the events leading up to this damned exile are... less than pleasant. How... would she react to the fact that I... tried to... _kill_..._ _one of my own sisters...? Will she turn away from me? Even though she knows that I am not who she was led to believe I am, she needs to know... _everything_... She needs to know that I am no hero, but that I... am a _monster_..._'

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt Shan tense against him, and he looked down to see her staring towards where the mountain lay in the distance, her ears slicked back against her skull.

"What is it?"

"There's... _something_... happening over at Mt. Coronet. Look!" the Lucario whispered, pointing with a trembling paw. "Didn't you see that bright flash of light just a second ago?"

"I did not see anything, no. I am sure it is just--" He cut himself off when the auraless Pokémon got to her feet, giving him a look of apology before she turned and dashed off towards the mountain. "Shan? Shan! Wait! Where are you going?! Just... _what_... did you see to make you act so strangely?"

* * *

"Shan!" Dialga's call came to her ears, but went unheeded. "Wait!"

The she-Lucario didn't stop running until she had reached the base of the mountain, where she slid to a stop, kicking up dust and loose pebbles. She glanced about, not entirely sure why such an impulse to suddenly just come here had taken hold of her, until she remembered... that strange flash of light... The she-Lucario felt an icy shiver crawl down her spine, coupled with the feeling that she was no longer alone.

"Shan..."

The sudden call of her name caused her to glance upwards, towards a small outcropping of rock that stood a mere few feet away and above where she was... and she felt her jaw drop when her wine-red eyes fell upon a man who deeply resembled...

'_Riley...?_' Shan thought, remaining motionless as she continued to gaze up at the figure. '_No... it can't be... Riley... doesn't wear a cape..._'

The hat the man was wearing had the same torn and disheveled look in the back, but the band above the rim had some sort of crest upon the front of it. The man's clothes were also quite different from Riley's: instead of a buttoned overcoat, the figure was wearing what appeared to be a long pullover vest over a long-sleeved shirt, a pair of odd-looking gloves, pants, and a pair of laced boots which stopped at mid-calf. Completing the ensemble was the small pouch he wore around his waist. The colors of the clothing were unable to be distinguished thanks to the greenish glow that surrounded the figure. A glow that seemed... very familiar...

Despite all these differences concerning clothing, the man's face and hair bore such a striking resemblance to those of Riley that it was _eerie_.

"I understand that you're going through a hard time, but I know that you'll overcome it in the end. Where there's darkness, there's light." The man spoke, the sound of his voice vaguely familiar, yet, at the same time, strange. The pitch was only slightly different to that of her first trainer, and, despite the fact that the tone was gentle and harbored no malice, the pale Lucario felt herself shiver a second time, which she barely managed to suppress when she realized that he was semi-transparent in appearance rather than solid...

'_Aura! Th-then he's... he's..._' Shan stopped herself from finishing that thought before she began to speak, only to have her voice come out in nothing but a mouse-like squeak. Fighting back her embarrassment, the canid cleared her throat before trying again. "I don't even _know_ you... _How_... do _you_ know... _me_...?"

"That's a question that will be answered in time, Shan." The faintest of smiles crossed the man's lips, remaining only for a fleeting moment before once again disappearing. "I have faith in you, as do the ones who care for you, even those you feel have turned away..." With these last words, the apparition began to shimmer and slowly fade.

"Wait!!" she cried, holding a paw out to him. "W-who _are_ you...?" '_And _why_ do you look so much like Riley...?_'

"Have a little patience, Shan." His voice was the only remnant of his presence before it was carried away by a sudden breeze. "That is yet another answer you shall receive in time..."

'_Patience...? _How_ can I have patience when a strange, glowing _ghost_ who's the spitting image_ _of my first trainer, and who I've _never even met _before, appears to me?_' Shan thought, turning his words over in her mind as she kept her gaze upon the now unoccupied rock outcropping, even when a shadow fell over her.

"What did you see?" came Dialga's voice from close by, but Shan didn't even turn to look at him. "You tore out of there so quickly, it was as if you were a thing possessed."

"... A ghost, Lord Dialga," she replied, her voice soft as she slowly turned to finally look up at him. "A ghost of a human man who... who looked _exactly_ _like Riley_, but I didn't know him... He spoke to me as if... as if _he_ _knew_ _me_..."

"Indeed..." the time dragon murmured, taking care not to step on the much smaller Pokémon when he moved closer to her before he flicked his tail, moving to lightly run the tip of it down her back even though he chose to keep the contact brief. It was really the only gesture of physical comfort he could offer to her while in his true form. "It is getting late. Come, I will take you home."

Shan felt herself tense at the sudden contact, since it was something she had not expected; however, she relaxed and gave a slight nod before she turned to follow him away from the base of the mountain, though not without a moment of hesitation.

'_This is going to bother me for a _while_..._' she thought, glancing back at the outcropping one last time before she hurried to catch up to the dragon as he waited for her.

Lake Acuity Cavern -- That Same Night

Soft snoring echoed throughout the cavern which lay at the heart of Lake Acuity. Curled up in the middle of the cavern was a tiny creature who was mostly cornflower blue in coloration, save for a swath of harvest gold that cut vertically down her face, over her closed eyes and mouth. A helmet-like growth covered the back of her head, divided by four semi-deep grooves, and a large, elliptical red gem was set into her forehead, a smaller matching gem set into the tip of one of her two tails. The other, however, was missing. Her body was small and compact in build, tipped with two large feet at the bottom that appeared to lack legs, and a pair of arms tipped with three stubby fingers.

"There it is," came a barely audible whisper from behind one of the stalagmites a few feet away from the sleeping Pokémon. "Uxie, the Knowledge Pokémon."

"The Boss wants us to catch it again?" came another whisper as a second grunt peeked out from behind another stalagmite close by. "I really don't see why after his last plan failed. Look at it, it's so cute..."

"The Boss is going to try his plan again, but with a few extra steps and precautions. The reason why we're not here en masse like the last time is because this is pretty much a covert operation now. You and I were the two who caught Uxie last time, so of course he'd choose only us for this. Same with the grunts who managed to catch the other two..." the first voice hissed back before unclipping a Pokéball from his belt and pointing it at the ground beside him. "Stunky, come out."

The skunk yawned and shook himself before he looked up at his trainer. "Stun stunky stunk?"

"Shh!" the grunt hissed before he pointed towards the sleeping Uxie with a finger, his Pokémon following the gesture with dark eyes. "Use Poison Gas to wake it up."

"Here," the grunt whispered, handing his partner a gas mask after he had put on one himself when the skunk started off towards the sleeping Uxie. "So the gas doesn't affect _us_ either."

"Thanks," she whispered back, making sure that the mask was secure before she too moved to unclip a ball from her belt. "Golbat, come out and stand by," she whispered, pointing the device at the air to her left. The big-mouthed bat gave a high-pitched squeak as she materialized, causing her trainer to jerk slightly. "And keep quiet..."

"No need to keep quiet for long," the first grunt cautioned, keeping his eyes trained upon his Stunky as the creature's tail began to glow a sickly purple. A thin mist of the same sickly color began coalescing into existence around the glowing appendage before it began to spread towards the slumbering Lake Spirit. The little creature squeaked softly before moving to curl up into a tight ball, doing the best she could to block out the horrid odor.

'_Not getting up, eh? We'll see about that..._' the grunt thought, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Stunky, use a Scratch attack to weaken it, then use Smokescreen to disorient it."

"Stun!" The Skunk Pokémon growled, lashing out at the little Psychic-type with his claws, only to lose his balance and fall flat on his face when the little pixie suddenly shot up into the air. The dual Poison/Dark type snarled, scrambling to his feet as he hurried to carry out the rest of his trainer's order. He inhaled deeply before exhaling a cloud of thick, dark gray smoke towards the little creature... who suddenly winked out before once again reappearing a few feet away, out of range of the Smokescreen.

"Damn!"

"Golbat, get out there and help Stunky," the bat's trainer commanded, her voice muffled slightly by the mask. "Get that Spirit with Mean Look so it can't get away."

An answering screech was all she was given as the Bat Pokémon shot away from where the two humans were hiding, spilling air from her wings as she slowed herself to a halt. Never allowing her gaze to leave Uxie, the bat's eyes flashed before they began taking on an eerie yellowish glow as the creature performed the Mean Look attack she had been ordered to use.

The little Spirit gave voice to a soft whimper as she found herself completely unable to move, her sixth sense affected by the attack even though her eyes were closed. She gave a cry of pain when she was struck by a set of claws, the dark energy of the Night Slash adding to the amount of pain she was experiencing and causing her to fall out of the air, and she hit the rocky ground with a squeak. Immediately she felt a pair of hands roughly grab her, and Uxie tried to open her eyes in order to defend herself, but she was still too groggy from being jarred awake from the sudden attack, and in too much pain from the Dark-type attack.

"_Stop... please..._" she whimpered into the minds of the two humans, even as she felt herself being dropped into a holding container similar to the one that had confined her before. "_Your plan failed before... so _why_ try again...?_"

"Because the Boss has taken a few extra precautions this time, and don't even think about trying to blink out of there. That holding container is designed to block all those little mind tricks of yours..." The first human, who sounded male from the low pitch of his voice, spoke as he slung the container holding Uxie over his back. "Radio the Commander and tell her we have the first one," he said, the tone of his voice telling the little Psychic that this human was now speaking to the other one.

Uxie paid no mind to the rest of the conversation that followed as she curled up on the bottom of the container, her twin tails wrapped tightly around herself. Even if her other tail gem was removed, she knew that the red-haired girl who had saved her and her sisters before would do so again... At least, she hoped so.


	8. Wail of the Banshee Part 1: Nightmare

_Author's note: Originally, this chapter was supposed to have been posted at the same time as chapter seven, but that one just took up too much of my time because it was so damn hard to write. Also, another reason for the belatedness and darkness of this chapter is because the house where I grew up in burned down back on my birthday (of all damn days...), and my aunt lied to me about how bad it was and my sister wouldn't tell me what happened, so I'm pretty out of it right now. It was pretty much karma's sick-minded way of saying "Happy Birthday!" Meh, yeah, the damn irony of it all just makes me want to throw my head back and cackle meniachally. /coughs/ Anyway! The name of Shan's father is finally revealed in this chapter, and hopefully the nightmare sequences won't have my fellow Palkia fans baying for my blood. Also, POV bounces around quite a bit in this, so expect a lot of pagebreaks._

_Special thanks goes out to my best friend, Ayaluki, the best beta-reader I could ever ask for._

_As always , Pokémon is © to that wonderful mastermind, Satoshi Tajiri._

* * *

It had been a few weeks since they left Eterna City, and for the moment Dialga and Shan were both away from where Shan's trainer had set up camp for the night, looking for dry kindling, since the branches from the small copse of trees they were camping beside were unsuitable for the purpose. Right now, Dialga was away from his friend, as he chose times like this to hunt even though he didn't need to sustain himself on food as much as mortals did. He was able to go for weeks on end without eating; however, he found himself gripped by hunger more often while in his Lucario form.

He remembered the time he had once tried eating human food, something Shan had referred to as a 'sandwich'. She had offered him a small portion of the thing in order to help him to sate his curiosity, and the smell alone had been enough to turn his stomach. Tasting the thing had been far worse, and Dialga had thought he was going to be sick. The dragon-Lucario resisted the urge to spit, as if he could taste that damned sandwich again. He preferred the warm, coppery taste of blood from freshly-killed prey to the horrid taste of human food. He then remembered that the last time he had gone out to hunt, Shan had been with him. Dialga had caught and killed a Furret, and the poor she-Lucario had looked like she was going to faint right there on the spot.

'_To each their own,_' he thought to himself. '_She has her preferences and I have mine._'

The sound of the nearby scrub rustling snapped him from his thoughts, and, slowly, Dialga moved into a hunting crouch, his ears pricked forward towards the sound. The creature that emerged from the scrub was a Glameow, and, by the size of it, not much older than a single year. The deity felt a pang of regret for what he was about to do, but everything served a purpose in life, no matter how long or short-lived. Swiftly, the dragon-Lucario sprang forward and easily caught the Catty Pokémon, who had been playing with a few of the grass blades, before quickly ending the creature's life by delivering a sharp bite to the back of the neck. Frowning, he regarded his fellow predator with a solemn glance before he began to feed, and, once he had eaten his fill, he buried what was left before he set off to return to where he had left Shan earlier that evening, not knowing that he was being followed.

The pale gray Lucario was still by the large dead tree, and she was busily setting up what kindling she had gathered into a neat pile in preparation to take it back to camp. A rare mischievous thought crossed Dialga's mind as he watched the little she-jackal, and the time creature decided that he would have a bit of fun with her.

* * *

'_That should be enough to last us for a while,_' Shan thought as she gazed down at the moderately-sized pile of dry kindling she had just now finished gathering into a bundle. She had made sure to take more than needed as extra, so there would be no need for her to go out and look for more the next time they made camp. Sighing, the she-Lucario raised a paw to push her forelock out of her eyes, and she gave a loud yelp when she felt something slam into her from behind, knocking her to the ground and scattering the bundle of branches.

"Get off!" she snarled, beginning to struggle in an attempt to throw who or whatever had decided to pounce upon her off. She blinked when her assailant listened, and, grumbling to herself, Shan pushed herself to her knees before she slowly climbed to her feet, taking a moment to pause and brush bits of dirt and grass from her person. She turned to see Dialga standing a foot or so away, and, from his expression, the dragon-Lucario was trying his hardest not to laugh.

"And what, may I ask, is so damn funny? You nearly made me jump out of my pelt!" Shan snapped angrily, her ears slicking back. "Honestly, you're the _very last_ 'mon I'd ever expect to pull a stunt like that..."

"Even a Legend wishes to have a moment of fun once and a while, Shan," Dialga replied, his serious tone hampered by the smirk upon his muzzle. "And I also saw it as a chance to better my hunting techniques."

"But did you have to practice hunting _me_?" she asked, before giving a long, drawn-out sigh at seeing the sorry state the kindling was in now, no longer in the neat bundle she had placed it in. The canid muttered something to herself as she began to gather the scattered branches, though her movements were slow and half-hearted. "That wasn't a very nice thing to do, you know."

"I... I am sorry," he muttered, raising a paw to touch the blue diamond embedded within his chest. "And I admit that it was a bad effort on my part to cheer you up. You have been quiet and downtrodden ever since we left Eterna City, Shan. What is wrong?"

"... I'm afraid to tell the others about the aura-ghost I saw, Lord Dialga. I'm afraid they won't believe me if I did tell them. Everyone knows that Ghost-type Pokémon are real, but mountains of controversy surround what I saw and cases like it... If you want to know the truth, _I'm_ beginning to doubt that I even saw the ghost myself..." Shan replied, giving another heavy sigh as she continued restacking the kindling. She blinked when she felt something on her shoulder, and she turned her head to see his paw resting there.

"That just goes to show you how thick-headed most mortals can be," Dialga explained gently, keeping his paw on her shoulder for another moment before he moved to kneel beside her. "If something is quite strange to them, and they have no proof, then they just dismiss it. There is no need to be afraid of telling the others about what you saw. If they truly are your friends, then they will believe you."

"Did _you_ believe me when I told you?" Shan asked softly. She tilted her head to one side when she saw him shiver and slowly close his eyes before he gave vent to a soft sigh. "Did I... say something wrong?"

"... None can play at expressing fear and hope to be easily believed, Shan. The tone of your voice told me that you were not lying about what you saw, so, yes, I believed you." He blinked at her second question before he shook his head, a ghost of a smile playing upon his muzzle for a moment before once again fading. "Of course not. It was--... Do not worry about it, my friend."

* * *

'_Well, isn't this sweet. The Lucario I followed happened to lead me to his companion. Perfect..._' A pair of eyes narrowed as their owner gave vent to a soft chuckle, a smirk worming its way across her face. '_I've been looking for new playmates ever since the last ones were poor sports and ran away..._' she thought before her eyes begin to take on a magenta glow. "Hmm-hmm-hmm. It's show time, little puppies..."

* * *

"Huh? What was that light?" Shan asked, her brow furrowing as she glanced about. Slowly, the she-Lucario took a few slow steps forward. "I... I could've sworn..."

"What light?" Dialga asked, flicking an ear at his friend's actions. "...Shan?" He followed her with his eyes, the fur upon the back of his neck standing on end as an icy shiver ran down his spine. Something was not-- His eyes widened upon catching sight of a flash of magenta light. "Confuse Ray... Shan, do not look at it!"

"Too... late..." she replied, her bundle of kindling falling from her arms as she fell to her knees, not even noticing when Dialga ran to her side. "See? There _was_ a light, silly dragon..."

'_... Silly dragon?_' "Uh... Shan..."

"Hmm?"

"... Never mind, come on..." he replied, moving to loop her arm around his shoulders before he helped the gray-furred Lucario to her feet, allowing her to lean against him for support. "We have to get out of here. Now." He had barely even taken a single step forward before two more flashes of the same magenta light appeared, causing Dialga to falter and lose his concentration, and he barely heard Shan's yelp of pain as he felt his world going black...

* * *

"Shan and Dialga should have been back by now..." the girl muttered to herself as she glanced up at the sky. The sun was beginning to get low in its position, and soon night would be upon Shera and her friends. Pushing her copper-colored braid back over her shoulder, the human moved to stand before she glanced about, calling out Isto's name until she heard the fluttering of wings a foot to her right.

"Donkarasu?" the bird asked, tilting her head to one side and blinking. "Karkara karasu?"

"I'm okay, but I'm getting very worried about Shan and Dialga," the girl replied, beginning to pace a bit. "They went to gather dry kindling and have been gone for nearly two hours. It shouldn't take _this_ long to find any. Could you please go out, find them, and tell them to come back even if they're not done searching? It's getting late, and we can make do without dry kindling for at least one night. There's plenty of good wood around these trees despite it being so damn foggy; it would just take a bit longer to successfully light it. Oh, and if anything's wrong, come back and tell me immediately."

"Karasu!" the Big Boss Pokémon cawed, fluffing out her chest feathers before she rose into the air, and, with a few powerful flaps of her wings, she was flying away from the campsite.

Shera sighed and ran a hand through her messy bangs, and she gave a small start when she felt the earth beginning to tremble slightly, before she realized that the cause of it was her Torterra moving towards her before he settled down once again, looking up at her with dark eyes.

"I'll be okay, Zaratan, don't worry," she said, reaching down to gently pat the huge earth turtle's beaky nose. "But if Isto comes back by herself, I'll probably have to leave for a bit, but I know that I can count on you to guard the camp while I'm gone if it does indeed come down to that."

"Terra," the Continent Pokémon rumbled, closing his eyes as he leant his head against her hand. His eyes snapped open before he lightly shook his branches and looked up at her expectantly. "Torterra tor?"

"Sure, I've got time," Shera replied with a soft chuckle before she moved over to where her rucksack lay propped up against the trunk of a small sapling, and she opened it and began looking around inside. "I always had a feeling that those stupid hedge clippers mom insisted I take along the day I began my journey would one day come in handy for something, though I'll never really understand _why_ you're so self-conscious about your looks when you dislike participating in contests… Ah, here they are."

'_Shan, Dialga,_' the girl thought as she, with the hedge clippers in hand, crossed back over to where Zaratan waited for her before she began to carefully trim away at the broken and bent branches on the small tree which grew from his shell. '_I just hope that the two of you are okay..._'

* * *

_Shan blinked, confused, as she slowly took in her surroundings. Dialga was gone, and the fog was thicker than ever. The she-Lucario moved forward a few steps when the thick substance in front of her parted to reveal a moderately sized area of the moor that wasn't blanketed by the pale gray substance at all. In the distance, something caught her attention, and Shan raised a forepaw to rest it above her eyes and squinted, trying to make out any detail she could before she inched slowly forward, the thing in the distance slowly taking shape to reveal that it was... the figure of a human._

'Is that... the strange-looking man from before...?'_ she thought as she came to a halt, brow furrowing as she strained her eyesight, trying to make out any details. _'No, it can't be... He's not glowing with aura, nor is he wearing a cape...'

_"I-it can't be..." she whispered, eyes widening. "R-Riley...?"_

_All this time, the figure, who had its back to her, had not moved even once. Giving vent to a soft whimper, Shan took a few more steps forward, enough to where she could see that the figure was wearing... mostly black and blue. Black pants, a blue overcoat, and that hat with the worn-looking back..._

_"Riley!!" she cried, cupping both paws against the sides of her muzzle to make her voice louder, but the human still kept his back to her. Tears beginning to fall from her eyes, Shan raced forward as fast as her legs could carry her, sliding to a stop when she reached the man's side, her tail swooshing back and forth. "Riley! _Papa_! It's me, Shan! I'm a Lucario now!"_

_"Riley...?" She reached up with a forepaw to tug at one of the sleeves of his overcoat when movement finally came from the figure. Slowly, the man turned his head to look at her, and Shan's eyes widened when she saw not love and recognition within the dark depths, but coldness and dismissal._

_"And _why_ should I care?" he asked, glaring down at her as if she was an unsightly Feebas. "You don't belong to me any more."_

_"Wh-what...?" Shan asked, her question coming out as a soft whimper as she took a step back, her ears flattening._

_"I chose to give you away because I was fed up with having to take care of you," came the reply. "Luc was right about you after all."_

_"Wa-was... right..." The pale she-Lucario was barely able to get the words out past the hard lump that had formed in her throat, hot tears beginning to crawl down her cheeks as she felt her heart crack and shatter. She froze when a low growl came from right beside her, at her left side, and, slowly, the distraught jackal 'mon turned her head... _

_To come face to face with her father._

_"Riley finally realized that he no longer had the time to care for such a weak pup as you," Luc said, his gravelly voice making it sound like he was growling, his crimson-red eyes boring deeply into her own as his ears slicked back against his skull. "So neither of us wish for you to be around here. Get out or else."_

_Shan's only reply was a high-pitched whine as she looked back and forth between the two of them, eyes wide in disbelief. This... wasn't _happening_... was it...? Her father took a single step towards her, and, with her tail tucked between her legs, the gray-furred Lucario turned and bolted from the clearing as fast as she could, as if a pack of Houndooms was after her. She ran until her lungs screamed for mercy, and only then did Shan come to a halt, only to collapse to her knees, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as the sobs overtook her..._

* * *

"Those two just _have_ to be around here..." Isto grumbled to herself, spilling air from her wings as she began to descend closer to the fog-covered ground, pausing to hover a few feet above before firing off a Defog attack, blinking when the sharp blades of air did nothing to diminish the fog. "... What the hell? How am I going to be able to find Shan and Diamond Boy through _that_?"

Sighing, the she-Honchkrow descended to the ground, coughing and shaking her head when some of the condensed water droplets found themselves going into her nostrils. "I. _Hate_. Fog," she snapped angrily to herself, shaking her head yet again for extra measure before she sniffled a few times and readjusted her fedora, before she began to hop off in a random direction. After about fifteen minutes, she was about to give up and return to the air when she suddenly tripped over something. Squawking, the 'krow flapped frantically, managing to regain her balance before she turned clumsily about to glare at the offending object. "Why you, I oughta--" she snarled, only to cut herself off when she saw that what, or rather _whom_, she had tripped over was Shan.

The pale gray she-Lucario was lying upon her side in the grass, her eyes tightly shut, and not far from her lay Dialga, who also appeared to be asleep, and beside them both was a scattered pile of dry kindling. Shan, however, was trembling, sweat beading upon her brow as she muttered things that Isto was unable to understand. The Honchkrow tilted her head to one side before she began to unfurl a wing towards the prone form of her best friend, only to be interrupted by a sudden flash of magenta light which left the dark bird momentarily disoriented.

"Wha...? No tired... No sleepy for the One and Only Isto..." she muttered, backing a few clumsy steps away from the two sleeping Lucarios before she shook her head, a soft 'Brrr!' leaving her before she glanced about, trying to pinpoint where exactly the odd light had come from.

"'Ay! Flashing somebody is _quite_ rude, y'know?!" she cawed angrily, shaking her head again for good measure before she took wing, casting one last glance back at the two Lucarios before she began making her way back to camp. Shera needed to be notified about the situation as soon as possible before night completely closed in.

Not far from where both Shan and Dialga lay asleep, a pair of eyes narrowed as their owner watched the Honchkrow rise into the air and fly off.

* * *

'This is becoming _very_ unnerving...'_ Dialga thought to himself as he glanced about, hesitant about taking even one step in any direction. Shan was gone, and the fog was too thick for the dragon-Lucario to figure out where to even begin searching for her. He jerked when a strange sound came to his ears, sounding hollow, like a whisper upon the frosty air of a cold winter's night. He strained his hearing for a few moments when he realized that the sound _was_ somebody whispering -- no -- _crying_... and in pain._

_"Dialga..."_

_The voice sounded quite familiar, causing the dragon-Lucario to blink and raise his head, ears pricking. The time creature began to move towards the source of the voice, brow furrowing in confusion when the thick fog in front of him slowly began to part, revealing a large section of the moor that was untouched by the stuff, and lying broken and bloodied at the center of the clearing... was Palkia._

_"Sister!!" The cry had left Dialga before he even realized that he had uttered a sound, and, moving upon all fours, he ran to the water dragon's side, rising back up onto his hind legs before he placed his forepaws upon her shoulder and began to frantically shake her. "Palkia! Palkia, what happened?! Who did this to you?!"_

_The Spatial Pokémon's eyes fluttered open before she coughed weakly, dotting the nearby blades of grass with spatters of blood. _

_"Di...alga... little... brother... you... you came..." Her voice was barely a whisper, and she managed to give him a ghost of a smile before being overtaken by a second fit of coughing._

_"You are my older sister, why would I... What happened? _Who_ did this? Is there anything I can do to help you...?"_

_"No help..." Palkia rasped, using every ounce of her remaining strength to raise her head so she could lock eyes with him. "Too late... Gira--" A screech of agony cut through her words, the pitch of the cry causing Dialga to flinch, and his sister's head collapsed back onto the fog-soaked grass._

_"No... NO...!! Palkia!!" the time creature cried frantically, beginning to shake her again, his actions ceasing when he saw the already dangerously dim light within the maroon pearl set into her shoulder flicker and fade completely, leaving the jewel dark and dead. "Palkia, _please_...!! You cannot leave me alone... Palkia!! Palkia..." _

_He threw his head back, a wail of anguish leaving him, before he pressed his muzzle against the side of his older sibling's neck, the tears that had been stinging at the corners of his eyes now falling freely down his face. Her scales were still warm, but there was no pulse, no heartbeat, no soft breathing, and, reluctantly, Dialga pulled his head away, his gaze moving to rest upon her face before he moved to gently close her eyes -- only to recoil in mixed shock and fear when the space dragoness's body slowly began to melt in front of his eyes. _

'This cannot be happening...!'_ he thought, the sound of rapid-fire 'rmphs' coming to his ears before he realized that _he_ had been whimpering. That sound was soon drowned out by a new one: that of laughter, which sounded quite dead and hollow, causing the dragon-Lucario to go completely rigid. _'N-no... _please_... not _him_... _anyone_ but him...!'

_The laughter continued as the creature slowly faded into view, blood-red eyes narrowing maliciously as their owner stared down at the time creature. Dialga's mind screamed for him to flee, but his body absolutely refused to obey as a wave of combined dread and hopelessness washed over him when the serpentine form towering over him spoke, the creature's voice as dead and hollow as his laughter._

_"Hello again, Dialga."_

* * *

_Secondary author's note: Muahahahaha... aren't I just evil? Happy Friday the Thirteenth, everyone!_


	9. Wail of the Banshee Part 2: Dreamworld

_Author's note: Okay, just to clear something up (though I highly doubt anyone reads author's notes...) Shan can __**not**__ heal outside the dreamworld because it was a wish of hers that was granted even though her aura is, at the time being, corrupted. Since aura is the lifeforce of the Pokémon world, like chi/ki is in our own, if aura can be used to heal an evil tree through a certain little psychic cat (whose name I will __**not**__ type), then why can it not be used to heal others as well? Just a bit of food for thought. sighs I'm __**so sorry **__for the long wait, I've been feeling pretty lethargic as of late and my writing muse just doesn't want to work. I feel bad for taking this long to get this chapter done because I left you all at that cliffhanger last time. My muse absolutely refused to cooperate while I was trying to finish this chapter, and I'm not really happy with the way this one turned out, but I'd probably never get it finished if I tried again, so this is what I'm staying with. Meh, I suck, sorry, guys... _

_As always, Pokémon is © to that wonderful mastermind, Satoshi Tajiri._

_Special thanks go out to my best friend, Ayaluki, the best beta-reader I could ever ask for._

* * *

_"Wh-what..." Dialga had to clear his throat when he heard his voice crack from being forced past the hard lump that had formed in his throat. He hesitated a moment before he tried speaking again, but he had a sinking feeling that conversation was something that the Renegade Pokémon was _not_ here for. "What do you want _now_, Giratina...? We settled the matters regarding your own world before, did we not...?"_

_"Perhaps..." came the hollow response as the ghost dragon hovered there before he inclined his head forward, the golden mask-like plate covering his mouth beginning to open. "Perhaps _not_..."_

'He is still adamant about killing me... But... why...?' _The dragon-Lucario's ears slicked back against his skull as he began to slowly back away from Giratina, sweat beginning to bead upon his brow, when the centipede-like creature suddenly exhaled, the stark yellow-orange of a Hyper Beam attack streaking through the foggy air towards the time creature. Dialga froze, completely unable to move as his eyes widened in pure fright, the usually vibrant ruby-red irises having dilated and been reduced to nothing but small, dull chips of red. Giratina's Hyper Beam had hurt Dialga back when he was in his true form the last time the two dragons had clashed. Now, however, Dialga was in a much smaller and mortal form, and he knew that this time..._

_He heard himself cry out when the beam struck the ground directly in front of him, causing the ground to split apart, and Dialga suddenly felt himself falling through the chasm created by Giratina's attack..._

* * *

_"So, that Lucario is actually the Time God himself in mortal form, eh? Well, things have just become _much_ more interesting..." came a voice before a wispy creature materialized beside the ghost dragon, causing the image to flicker before it disappeared. The Mismagius narrowed her eyes slightly, a smirk worming its way across her face as she watched the chasm close and disappear. "Eeheehee... There's no way you and your little she-Lucario can get out of my dreamworld, or my name's not Banshee..."_

* * *

"Don! Donkarasu!"

"Hmm?" Shera raised her head from where it had been resting cupped within her palm when Isto's cawing came to her ears. She glanced up, seeing that the Honchkrow was wheeling about in a circle, before Isto spilled air from her wings and dove, stopping to hover a few feet away from the girl. "You found them? What's happened?"

"Don... Dondonkara... Karkararasu!"

"What?! Oh man... Take me to them!" Shera commanded, climbing to her feet before she turned her attention to where Zaratan was resting nearby. "Remember, you're in charge of the camp for now, Zaratan. We'll be back as soon as we can, I promise."

"Torterra tor," the giant earth turtle rumbled, nodding before he moved to stand. He watched his trainer dash off after the retreating avian before he plodded towards the middle of the camp to settle back down and wait, knowing that none in their right mind would be brave (or stupid) enough to mess with a Torterra out in the wilderness...

* * *

'I am... alive...?' _A groan left the dragon-Lucario as he forced his eyes open before he slowly moved to raise his head, seeing that he was lying sprawled out upon the grass of the fog-laden moor once again. Cautiously, Dialga turned his head, searching for the renegade dragon until a few long minutes had passed. Gritting his teeth, the time creature climbed to his feet, not even bothering to brush himself off before he took one more glance around, seeing that the moor was completely deserted aside from himself._

'Perhaps this is how it is meant to be...'_ he thought miserably, lowering his head and closing his eyes. _'For me to be alone... I let Palkia die... I cannot find my little sisters... and Shan--'

_He blinked, his thoughts interrupted when a soft sound came to his ears, forcing Dialga to strain his hearing before he realized that the sound was that of somebody crying. No... not again... Wasting no time, the dragon-Lucario tore off in the direction of the sound, once again moving upon all fours since, even now, running upon two legs was something difficult for him. He slid to a stop when the thick fog before him parted, and he expected to see one of his little sisters lying upon the ground in a horrible state as Palkia had been. Instead, he saw Shan lying curled into a tight ball upon the ground, her paws clamped tightly over her ears. Wasting no time, he ran to her side before he moved to kneel beside her, his gaze sweeping over her in order to check for any external injuries before he reached out with a paw to gently shake her..._

* * *

_"Don't... Don't touch me... Don't touch me, don't touch me, __**DON'T TOUCH ME**__!!" the pale-furred Lucario cried, shuddering and moving to curl up into an even tighter ball, trembling violently as the shaking continued, a voice calling her name. Slowly, Shan lowered her paws away from the sides of her head, one wine-red eye opening before the other followed suit. Panic welled up inside her when she caught sight of a bleary shape looming over her, barely able to distinguish the outline of another Lucario. Was it her father? Had he come to hurt her?! If it were so, she wouldn't go down, not without a fight!_

_"_Ru!!_" As fast as lightning, Shan's head darted forward, her jaws parting to allow her teeth to sink into any part of the other canid that was closest to her. A low growl sounded within her throat when she felt the metallic taste of blood in her mouth, her eyes narrowed to mere slits even as she heard the other Lucario give a yelp of pain._

_"Damn it, Shan, _stop_! I need that paw!"_

_Wait... that voice!_

'Lord... Dialga...?' _Shan blinked, the haze lifting as her sight finally came into focus, and instantly she released her hold upon the other's paw before she moved to press herself as far against the fog-soaked grass as she could, her eyes squeezed shut and her ears slicked back against her skull._

_"I'm sorry, sorry... I'm so sorry...!" she whimpered, keeping her tail tucked between her legs in a gesture of submissiveness. "Lord Dialga... I didn't mean to... I thought you were my father... Go ahead and do whatever you see as fit to punish me..."_

_Nothing but silence came to her as a reply, and the she-jackal closed her eyes, a few tears crawling down her cheeks. She flinched when she felt a touch between her ears, and, cautiously, she opened her eyes before she raised her head to see the deity kneeling in front of her, a stern expression upon his face, and she knew that he was probably doing all he could to keep from yelling at her for biting him like she did... or, worse, striking out at her, the latter of which she felt she deserved..._

_"On your feet." He spoke at last, his voice low and hard. "We have to find a way out of the moor. _Now_."_

_Shan only answered with a meek nod before she slowly moved to climb to her feet after the deity had done so himself. She refused to look at him as she trailed miserably behind, her gaze focused intently upon the grassy ground below her, as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world..._

* * *

'Great Arceus, did she really have to go and bite _that_ hard?'_ Dialga thought, wincing as he flexed his wounded paw, trying to see if she had bitten all the way down to the bone like he believed. It _felt_ like she had, anyway. The bleeding had stopped, dried blood caked over the bite wound. The dragon-Lucario glanced back over his shoulder, a frown breaking his stern mask at seeing Shan trailing behind him in the posture she had assumed the day she had lost the use of her aura-abilities. He pondered calling to her, but his draconic pride kept him silent, and, with a soft sigh, he returned his attention to the foggy expanse of moorland ahead of him._

_The silence between the two of them, he knew, was punishment enough._

'Do not go and let your foolish pride ruin what you have built with her,'_ the dragon-Lucario's conscience warned sternly. _'Friendship is an area you are _severely _lacking in, Dialga. Do not _dare_ push her away because of a misunderstanding; even though she did hurt you, it was a case of mistaken identity on her part.'

'Oh please,' _he countered irritably, still staring down at his paw. _'I just do not know what to say to her, that is all.'

'For starters, you could try accepting her apology,' _the voice replied in an as-matter-of-fact tone._ 'It would not kill your pride to at least do _that_.'

_"..." Dialga was barely able to hold back a sigh as he slowly closed his eyes for a long moment before he halted and turned to face Shan, who was still plodding forlornly behind him. "... Shan..."_

_A barely audible whimper was the only reply from the pale-furred canid as she also came to a halt before she slowly raised her head to meet his gaze, and Dialga noticed that she was... hesitating... And the damp appearance of the short fur around her eyes and on her cheeks told him that she had been crying. He knew that this was not the first time that he had made Shan cry; the first time had been back at Eterna City's Pokémon Center, when he had been nothing but a rude, inconsiderate bastard to her when all she had done was come to see if he was all right._

_"I..." He fell silent, fighting to force himself to speak the words he wanted to utter, but finding it so hard to do so. "... I... accept your apology..."_

_"Then you're... not mad at me...?" Shan replied, though her voice was nothing but a whisper so soft that Dialga had to strain his hearing to catch her words. "I feel so terrible for what I did to you..."_

_"I know that it was not directed at me, so, no, I am not angry with you any more," he replied, his tone unusually gentle as he slowly moved to close the distance between himself and the she-Lucario, though only by a few steps. "And I..." He trailed off, finding that apologizing himself in turn was to be much harder than he had expected thanks to his pride, especially since this was the _second_ time he had found himself having to apologize to the she-jackal in the span of a single night. Apologizing to Palkia before had been equally difficult for him, but he had managed it. He felt his heart clench at the thought of his poor sister, and Dialga forced himself to take a deep breath in order to shake away the memory of what had happened before that... _aberration_ of a Legend... had appeared, and to regain his composure before he lost what he was trying to say. "I am... sorry... for what I said..." he finished, albeit awkwardly, before he exhaled, releasing the breath he had not realized he had still been holding till then._

_"It's fine, really... I _deserved_ it for hurting you..." she replied, her voice still soft. She sniffled and raised a paw to wipe her eyes, her ears remaining slicked back. "I wasn't thinking clearly..." She moved to close the final distance between herself and the deity, reaching out to carefully grasp his injured paw within both of hers before she examined the wound, a soft whimper leaving her at the sight of the dried blood caked over it. Shan turned her head away, her eyes squeezing shut as she fought back more tears which were now stinging at the corners of her eyes. The sight of blood, even when it was dry, unnerved her. _

'I feel so horrible for striking out and hurting him - as if I were nothing but a savage monster - after I finally managed to gain his trust...' _she thought, her paws clutching at his, and she refused to even look at him now because she was so upset at herself._ 'I wish there was something... _anything_... I could do to take care of what I did...'

_"Shan, your paws..." His voice caused her to open her eyes before she turned her head, and Shan felt her breath catch in her throat when she saw that both of her paws were enveloped within a familiar green-blue glow. _

'But... I thought that my aura was corrupted...?'_ she thought, a gasp leaving her, her eyes widening in total disbelief. _'Perhaps...' _she added silently as she raised one of her paws to gently place it over the bite wound, her eyes falling closed before she focused all of her will into channeling some of her aura to heal it... or at least she hoped that it would anyway. Dialga hadn't said anything else since alerting her to the supposed revival of her aura, but she heard him draw a sharp breath through clenched teeth before the she-Lucario slowly opened her eyes, half-dreading what she may find..._

* * *

_Dialga gritted his teeth as he felt the wound close up as it was healed. It didn't _hurt_, exactly, but the sensation was odd in itself. He stood there unable to utter the words that were on the tip of his tongue, his mouth open in disbelief over what had just happened. _'She... she gave up some of her aura - some of _her own life force_ - just to heal that minor wound...?'_ he silently asked no one in particular, feeling more than just a little confused about this entire situation. _Where_ were they? Why was Giratina here... hunting... him? Had Shan finally forgiven her first trainer and her father? Did she bother healing Dialga because she cared for him that much? The deity gave his head a light shake, the sudden barrage of questions threatening to... how did that human saying go again? Drive him up the wall. "I... Shan, thank you, but that really was not necessary."_

_"I wanted to," she replied simply, smiling for the first time that night before it was broken by a grimace. He blinked when Shan squeezed her eyes shut, releasing his paw when she raised both of hers to the sides of her head. _

_"What is wrong?" he asked, a concerned frown etching its way across his muzzle as he moved to set a paw upon her shoulder. "Shan?"_

_"Dizzy spell..." she grunted, taking a slow, deep breath before she exhaled and opened her eyes. "Just a little one. I used to get them a lot back when I was little."_

_"You will be all right, will you not?"_

_"I should be," she replied, turning her head to look at him._

_"Good," he replied, removing his paw from her shoulder before he turned. "Now, let us get out of... here..." He froze, his eyes widening considerably as he felt the fur on the back of his neck rising to stand on end._

_"Lord Dialga? What's wrong?" Shan asked, her brow furrowing in confusion at her friend's actions before she turned her head to see just what had unnerved him so. "This... can't be good at all..."_

* * *

"Isto, how much farther?" Shera called up to her Honchkrow, who was flying overhead. The fog around them had grown considerably thicker ever since they had both set out into the moor, and Shera had no idea if she even remembered the way back to camp now or not.

"Donkarasu don don!" the dark bird cawed back, and Shera saw that the Big Boss Pokémon had banked into the beginnings of a circle, indicating that her Lucario and Dialga were somewhere underneath where Isto was wheeling about above.

"Isto, can you use Defog to clear all this away?" she called up again, and she frowned when she saw the bird cut sharply during one of her turns, indicating a 'no' in response to her question. A soft 'hm' left the redhead before she reached down to pull one of her standard red and white pokéballs from where they rested on her belt, pointing the sphere at the ground close to her. "Tanaka, come on out."

"Rentoraa...?" The big electric lion's jaws opened wide as he yawned, his forelegs being stretched out in front of him as he arched his back. He then stretched each hind leg in turn, making sure that all of his muscles were well limbered before he shook his head and turned his attention to his trainer. "Renren?"

"I need the luminescence from your tail star to help light a path through this fog. Isto can't get rid of it," Shera explained, pointing at the thick fog hanging around them like a pale gray curtain before she pointed up to where the 'krow was still circling. "Isto says Shan and Dialga are here somewhere, so that x-ray vision of yours should come in handy as well. Could you use that first to locate them so we don't end up stumbling around blindly?"

"Rentoraaren," the Luxray rumbled softly, nodding once before he gazed up at the sky, watching his Dark/Flying teammate's position before he once again turned his attention back to the thick fog. Tanaka's eyes began to take on a beautiful golden glow as the great cat switched his vision from normal to x-ray. He glanced about, his ears slicking back when nothing odd or inconspicuous was appearing, until he saw something that made his eyes widen. It was a lone figure that appeared to be crouching in the grass, and not far from it... were two prone figures...


	10. Wail of the Banshee Part 3: Awakening

_Author's note: Battles galore ahead in this chapter, and don't worry, Dialga and Shan will finally get out of that damn dreamworld. I wouldn't leave them trapped in there to suffer forever, would I? Originally 'Wail of the Banshee' was supposed to be just one chapter, but somehow, it ended up turning into this three part arc. And a sort of recap from author's notes past: this story takes place after The Rise of Darkrai __**and **__after the Giratina movie, __**so there will be some spoilers from both movies **__even though apparently, Dialga wasn't in movie 11 for that long (thank god...). Apologies for how I sounded in my author's note last chapter as well, since I was in a pretty bad mood when I wrote it. As for Shan being able to sense where Giratina would reappear the first time he used Shadow Force, well, he's not the real Giratina, and Shadow Force, I think works pretty much like Teleport in that the user disappears for a bit then reappears somewhere else; plus, since that's not the real Giratina he has to have some flaw other than talking too much, right? It's like the cojured Rayquaza in the episode 'Malice In Wonderland' who __**couldn't fly**__. Whew, with the completion of this chapter, I'm now halfway finished with Timeless! Only thirteen chapters left to go! Also, no more cliffhangers, I promise. /adjusts her halo/_

_Special thanks goes out to my best friend, Ayaluki, the best beta-reader I could ever ask for._

_As always, Pokémon is © to that wonderful mastermind, Satoshi Tajiri._

* * *

_"You are a fool to believe that you can escape from me a second time," the ghastly dragon said, and Dialga saw Shan flinch when the beast rested his blood-red gaze upon her. "And _you_ just happened to be at the wrong place..." His gaze then returned to rest upon Dialga. "... at the wrong _time_..."_

_The dragon-Lucario tensed, fighting hard against the waves of fear that threatened to overwhelm him, even as the ghost-dragon suddenly vanished from sight. Damn it, not this again... His gaze fell upon Shan for a fleeting moment, seeing the she-Lucario close her eyes before she raised a paw, holding it over her chest as the aura-sensing appendages at the back of her head rose slightly into the air, and her distinctive green-blue aura once again manifested itself around her._

_"I do not believe you will be able to sense him until he reappears, Shan," Dialga warned, looking about as he tried to figure out where Giratina would reappear. "If memory serves, Giratina just used an attack he calls 'Shadow Force', and when he disappears, he traver-" His explanation was suddenly cut off when he felt something slam into him from the side, and, with a snarl, he began to struggle, until he heard Shan warning him to stay down, and he saw that she was sprawled on top of him, her attention upon the sky above them._

_It was then that Giratina chose to reappear -- right above the two canids. A string of less than pleasant curses ran through Dialga's mind as he searched for a way to get both himself and Shan out of their current predicament without either of them getting hurt - or worse... The ghost-dragon's golden mask-like plate was opening, and Dialga knew, from personal experience, that Giratina was charging a Hyper Beam. It was then that the time creature remembered a move that he hadn't used since he had battled his sister and, later, Darkrai over that human dwelling place; wasting no time, he placed both forepaws upon Shan's shoulders, giving her a look of apology as he used every ounce of his strength to roll the two of them over so that Shan was now upon her back against the grassy ground with Dialga lying over her._

_"Just what the hell do you think you're _doing_?!" Shan snapped, red spreading across her cheeks as she locked eyes with Dialga, the color softening the annoyed glare she was giving him. "I only pushed you down so that monster wouldn't grab you in his coils when he reappeared!"_

_"I know what I am doing, trust me!" he countered, his ears slicking back as he gritted his teeth and began to concentrate just as their adversary unleashed his attack..._

* * *

Shera blinked when her Luxray suddenly whirled about to face her, the golden glow of his eyes fading before, with merely a single bound, he was beside her, his teeth fastened into the sleeve of her favorite jacket before he began to tug at her, nearly causing her to fall forward onto the grass.

"Oof! Tanaka, quit! You're going to knock me over if you keep that up!" she admonished, swatting at him and narrowly missing his nose. She blinked when Tanaka glanced over his shoulder and then back at her, his large ears slicking back against his spiky mane. "I'm guessing you found them, huh? I'm sorry for swatting at you like that, but I'd rather you _not _try to yank my arm out of its socket. Please, take me to where you saw-- Gak!" she yelped, her last sentence cut off when the big cat gave her sleeve one more tug, and, this time, Shera _did_ fall over, only to end up lying across the Luxray's broad back. "This wasn't exactly what I had in mind, big guy. You're not a Ponyta, you know."

Only when the girl was sitting with her legs draped over both his sides did the big cat finally take off, and Shera had to grab hold of the thick fur growing from his shoulders to keep from falling off. Riding bareback upon a Luxray was different than riding a Ponyta, bareback or not. For a fleeting moment, Shera thought of her own Ponyta, a female named Wisp who sported bluish flames rather than the normal red-orange of her kind. The rare filly was currently staying at Shera's uncle's ranch in Solaceon Town. '_I hope Wisp is doing well without us..._' Shera thought as she took a moment to glance upwards, seeing that Isto was following them, and she blinked when the Honchkrow folded her wings back and suddenly fell into a dive, the bluish-white glow surrounding her signaling that she was using an Aerial Ace attack. Just _what_ did her Pokémon sense that Shera herself couldn't?

The girl's silent, self-asked question was soon answered when she heard a high-pitched screech of pain coming from the grass up ahead as Tanaka slid to a halt, his spiky mane standing up on end as he growled deeply. Shera moved to slowly slide down from her Luxray's back as she kept her attention upon the foggy area of the moor where Isto had disappeared, to see some wispy... creature... go tumbling through the air from the force of Isto's Aerial Ace attack, the dark bird hovering nearby, her dark-eyed glare focused solely upon the thing.

Keeping quiet, Shera's right hand inched down to her jacket pocket, before she produced a small red device. She held it up far enough to have it pointing towards the wispy creature, before the Pokédex beeped and began to speak: "_**Mismagius, the 'Magical' Pokémon and the evolved form of Misdreavus. Its cries sound like incantations, and those hearing it are tormented by headaches and hallucinations; however, some of its chants can also bring happiness and even grant wishes.**_"

"The evolved form of Misdreavus...?" Shera whispered, studying the creature. It was mostly dark violet in color with what appeared to be magenta highlights at various places, and it appeared to be wearing what looked like a witch's hat and also appeared to be wearing a small cloak, though Shera knew that this 'hat' and 'cloak' were actually a part of the ghost itself. The Mismagius's eyes were a light reddish-orange with dark pupils, but instead of being against an expanse of white they were instead set against an expanse of yellow. Three elliptical, rune-like pearls were set into the ghost's chest, giving it the appearance of wearing a necklace.

Five years earlier, back when she and her family had lived in Johto, Shera had always wanted a Misdreavus, but the cute little ghosts rarely ever ventured down from Mt. Silver. Her father had perished trekking up to the mountain in order to capture a Misdreavus for her, killed when he had accidentally disturbed and aggravated a wild Onix. She shook her head, not wanting to think about that horrible memory any more, and a gasp left her when she caught sight of Shan lying prone upon the grass nearby, sticks of dry kindling scattered around the poor Lucario. Not even a few steps away from her lay Dialga, still within his own Lucario form, and he too was lying in the grass, unmoving. At once, both Shera and Tanaka were beside both creatures, and Shera reached out towards Shan in order to see what was wrong--

A high-pitched scream left the girl when the Mismagius chose that moment to suddenly appear _right in front_ _of her_, its jagged mouth opened wide as its eyes and pearls gave off an eerie glow. Shera gave vent to a soft whimper as the Astonish attack caused her to lose her balance, making her fall onto her rear in the fog-damp grass. She flinched when Tanaka voiced a roar of anger before he unleashed a Thunderbolt towards the ghost... who disappeared, only to reappear five feet or so away, the ends of its cloak raised to where they were covering its mouth, its eyes closed. It was then that Shera realized that the Magical Pokémon was _laughing_ at them.

"Mismagi-magi-magi!"

* * *

_Shan cried out and buried her face against the dragon-Lucario's chest when she saw the monster hovering above them unleash his attack. Not caring that her dignity was taking a sound beating thanks to the rather compromising position she and Dialga were in at the moment, Shan clung to him, fearing that this was the end -- until she realized that she was still alive. Hesitantly, she forced herself to open her eyes, seeing that she and Dialga were, at least for the moment, encased within a dome of bluish energy... which was repelling Giratina's Hyper Beam attack._

'Lord Dialga can use Protect...?'_ she thought, watching her friend even though his own eyes were tightly shut, before they suddenly snapped open, their harsh ruby gaze locking with her own._

_"We do not have much time before the Protect wears off, and when it does, I need you to trust me," he said, though Shan noticed that his voice was trembling, beads of sweat running down his brow, not from tiredness, but from _fear_. "When it wears off, I want you to get to your feet and run as fast as you can away from here, without looking back."_

_"But what about you?!" Shan protested, her ears flattening. "I don't want to leave you alone with this thing...!"_

_"Shan--"_

_"I'm _not_ going to run away like some spineless, yellow-bellied coward just because you want me to or because you think that that way, one of us will hopefully make it out of this hell alive," she said, her wine-red eyes remaining locked with his. "No, Lord Dialga, it just doesn't work that way. If this creature ends up being the death of us, then... we should meet such a fate together, not alone."_

_"Must you always be so damn stubborn?" Dialga replied, unable to help the slight smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth at the she-Lucario's choice of words. Just then, the dome of energy flickered and fizzled out, signaling the end of the Protect's duration. "But get to your feet so he will not catch you off-guard."_

_Shan's only reply was a nod as Dialga got to his feet, moving a step back in order to give Shan room before he began looking about. Ignoring the fact that she was trembling, Shan followed suit, slowly pulling herself back to her feet, though she was surprised that no attack from the spectre was greeting them by now._

_Because Giratina was, once again, gone._

* * *

"Why you little..." Isto growled, her eyes narrowing to nothing but mere slits when she saw the damn Mismagius pull that stunt and scare her trainer. With a few hard flaps of her wings, the dark avian banked about before she spilled air from her wings in order to launch herself into another dive, both wings beginning to take on a dark purplish-black glow, signifying the beginnings of a Night Slash attack. "No more Missus Nice 'krow!"

"_Maaagiiiii!_" the ghost 'mon cried, the force of the sneak attack sending her careening through the air once again. Isto smirked inwardly, the fact that she had a beak being a hindrance when it came to showing emotions outwardly with facial expressions. The Big Boss Pokémon flapped her wings, stopping her dive as she kept her dark-eyed gaze upon the Mismagius, the Ghost-type shaking her head to reorient herself from the super-effective attack. "I should have known that you'd be coming back with reinforcements, you gangster reject! I'm not ready to give up the Time God and his little puppy; I'm having too much fun playing with them in my dreamworld."

"... Define 'playing'," Isto replied, arching a feathery brow underneath the rim of her fedora as she hovered there, watching the Magical Pokémon. If Shan and Dialga were trapped in the dreamworld belonging to _this_ Mismagius, then Isto had a feeling that 'playing' had to do with either a) something frightening, b) something morbid, c) something sadistic, or d) all of the aforementioned. And Isto hoped to Darkrai that the answer wasn't choice d.

"Hmm? Well..." The Mismagius smirked. "I learned that presenting someone with his or her greatest fear can be tons of fun to watch, but then you and your human (I guess that's your human, anyway) just _had_ to come and interrupt my show just when things were getting interesting. I never knew Dialga was capable of breaking down and crying like he did; same goes for that she-Lucario friend of his."

"Why you little... What did you do to Shan and Diamond Boy?!"

"Do you really want to know?" the ghost asked, her smirk widening.

"Yes!" Isto cried, beginning to grow even _more_ annoyed with this troublemaker than she already was.

"Then say please!" the Mismagius chided, drawing out the word 'please'.

'_Whoa... This one's got one too many Zubats in her belfry..._' Isto thought to herself, holding back a sigh. "Please..."

"No," came the quick answer, the Mismagius turning her head to one side in a rather snobbish manner, her eyes closed. "No! I'm not going to tell you!"

"_Donkarasu don...!_" Isto snarled, her wings beginning to take on a purplish-black glow once again before she gave the feathered appendages a single hard flap, sending a dark wave of energy careening towards the damned Mismagius in a Dark Pulse attack. She continued hovering there, even when she heard Shera calling over to her, as she saw the wave strike its target, sending the Mismagius tumbling head-over-cloak into the fog with a shriek.

The female Honchkrow gave a 'hmm' of disappointment as she stared into the fog. For a fully-evolved 'mon who was wild, that Mismagius sure was a push--

"Aack!!" Isto squawked, seeing a Shadow Ball suddenly come careening out of the fog towards her. Frantically, the dark bird flapped her wings, dislodging a few red and black feathers in the process as she barely managed to dodge the dark purple ball of energy, seeing the ghost emerge out of the fog a moment later, reddish-orange eyes blazing with anger.

"Why, you horrible, bad-hat-wearing... bird! How _dare_ you launch yet _another_ sneak attack against me?!" the Mismagius ranted, though Isto had noticed that the ghost was breathing harder; whether from exhaustion from being struck with two Dark-types attacks and an Aerial Ace or just from anger, she couldn't tell. "You're going to pay for that, or my name's not Banshee!"

'_... 'Bad-hat-wearing bird'?_' Isto thought, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. '_Lady, your insults are pathetic._'

"I think she's inexperienced when it comes to battling, Isto," came Shera's voice from the 'krow's left. "She should go down in one or two more hits. Try one more Night Slash."

'_What are you up to, Shera? You talk like that when you're planning on-- No... NO! Oh, sweet Darkrai, _no_, Shera, don't catch the damn ghost!_' Isto thought, holding back a groan before she flapped her wings, rising higher into the air before she spilled air from her wings and launched herself into a dive towards the ghost 'mon, who in turn fired off a Psybeam... which had absolutely _no_ effect on Isto at all. Snickering to herself, the dark avian dove through the rainbow-colored beam of psychic energy, feeling it tickling through her feathers before her own attack hit its mark, and the Mismagius found herself falling to the ground this time, where she lay crumpled in an ectoplasmic heap, a rather annoyed expression upon her face.

"_Magi..._"

"Good job, Isto," Shera praised before she tossed a pink and blue sphere towards the fallen Mismagius, the heal ball touching the wispy creature before it opened, a bluish-white beam drawing the Mismagius into the ball before it fell to the grassy ground, the center glowing red as the ball rocked back and forth once, then twice, then a third time before the center turned green as the ball fell still. The Honchkrow sighed and fluttered to the ground in order to give her poor wings a much-needed rest. She kept her dark eyes upon her trainer as the girl moved to collect the heal ball, which now contained that damned 'Banshee' Mismagius, before she clipped it to her belt. "I'll introduce you to everybody else tomorrow."

'_Three of us won't want to meet that little troublemaker..._' Isto thought irritably, her gaze moving to rest upon the still prone forms of Shan and Dialga. '_Especially not them..._'

* * *

'This cannot be good...'_ Dialga thought before the sight of the moor shifting and then returning to normal caused him to blink even though the sight lasted merely a second. _'What in the name of Arceus...?'

_"Do _not_ lower your guard," he said gruffly, half in advice and half in warning. "He has used Shadow Force again, so there is no telling where he will reappear..."_

_He moved a step closer to his companion, not only to give himself reassurance that he wasn't alone this time, but also in silent answer to her refusal to run away and leave Giratina to Dialga himself. If Shan wasn't going to leave Dialga alone to face the monster, then he wouldn't leave her alone either. Though he wouldn't admit it, Dialga was grateful to the she-Lucario for her choice, because the last time the time god had faced the Lord of Death had been pretty much a one-sided battle -- with Giratina at a clear advantage despite Dialga's own main Steel-typing. He knew that Shan, on the other hand, had a clear _dis_-advantage due to her main Fighting-typing and the fact that attacks with such a type were practically harmless to Ghost-types like Giratina._

_"Lord Dialga, there's something I need to tell you in case we end up not making it out of this alive," Shan said, her voice soft, and Dialga swore that there was a hint of underlying sadness within it as well. "I--"_

_She was cut short when another Hyper Beam struck the ground between them, sending both jackals sprawling across the ground in opposite directions. Growling, Dialga gritted his teeth as he climbed back to his feet, and, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shan doing the same. There was _absolutely no way _Dialga could face up to his nemesis in this mortal form. Not only were most of his attacks inaccessible, but he also doubted that his Metal Claw attack would do _any_ damage to the huge spectral dragon aside from feeling like a mere pin-prick._

_"Tell me later," he called over to the pale canid, who appeared to be quite annoyed at Giratina's wonderful timing. The beast was once again out of sight, and Dialga couldn't help but roll his eyes towards the dark sky above. He gave a yelp mixed between fear and surprise when he suddenly felt cold, black shadows enveloping his small form before he found himself face to face with the Renegade Pokémon. _

_"Dialga!!" He heard Shan's cry, noticing that she had forgotten to address him by that title she always used, but he knew that right now wasn't exactly the time for such formalities._

_The dragon-Lucario growled and struggled within his opponent's coils, his attempt at wriggling free not only proving to be futile, but also eliciting a bout of mocking laughter from the creature. _

_"There is no escape for you this time, Dialga. Your little time tricks will not help-- Raaargh?!"_

_Dialga's brow furrowed in confusion at hearing the spectre's screech of apparent pain, the serpentine coils holding him immobile loosening. Dialga wasted no time in wriggling free, a soft grunt leaving him as he dropped to the ground. He saw Shan standing a few feet behind Giratina, and Dialga noticed the dark purple energy around both of her paws before it disappeared. She had used Shadow Claw to distract the Renegade in order to give Dialga enough time to escape, and the time god felt a rare sense of pride towards her action, whereas weeks ago he would have scolded or even belittled her for it._

_"Why, you diminutive insect!!" the spectral dragon snarled, whirling about to face Shan. "How _dare_ you raise a claw against me?!"_

_"Don't touch Lord Dialga..." Shan growled, glaring up at the Ghost/Dragon dual type._

'She is afraid, whether she admits it or not... As am I...'_ Dialga thought, seeing that the pale jackal's ears were slicked back against her skull, and he knew that she was most likely trembling at the sight of Giratina looming over her. He saw Giratina lash out at Shan with his tail, and the she-Lucario was only barely able to dodge the strike. Wasting no time, Dialga began to concentrate upon nothing but regaining his true form, knowing that even though he would probably end up getting tossed around again, he would have more of a fighting chance against the other dragon this way. He gritted his teeth as he felt the all too familiar changes beginning, and the transformation itself must have come as quite a shock to his opponent, for the spectral dragon snarled and turned his attention from the little mortal to focus his blood-red gaze upon Dialga._

_"I was wondering when you would finally regain your true form," Giratina hissed. "That of a Lucario really does not suit you at all, or did you take it in order to impress _her_?"_

_"_That_ is not of your concern!!" Dialga spat, his tail lashing back and forth in a mix of anger and embarrassment, his own fear of the Renegade momentarily forgotten. _

_"So you say. Then I suppose you would not care if I did this?" came the rather nonchalant response from Giratina before he suddenly turned his head and exhaled a Hyper Beam towards Shan. The she-Lucario must have been caught off-guard by the spectral dragon's sudden attack, for the blast struck, sending her careening through the air, a cry of pain leaving her as she hit the ground, the force of the impact causing her to side a few feet before she came to a stop and lay still._

_"Shan!!"_

_"Does this scenario seem familiar to you, Dialga? Once again, you drag an innocent into your battle, but unlike that other one, this Lucario was foolish enough to try putting up a fight in order to aid you rather than to save her own pelt."_

_"_What_ other one?! What are you--" Dialga stopped himself, eyes widening when he remembered a tiny creature he was unable to put a name to. One that was white on bottom and green on top, with two pinkish blossoms on either side of its head. That little creature had become caught in the middle of his first skirmish with Giratina, and it had somehow escaped. Dialga had escaped afterwards with the help of catching Giratina inside a time loop, but he had never learned of the little green and white creature's own fate. Back then... he hadn't cared..._

_Laughter snapped the Temporal Pokémon from his recollections, and he looked up to see that Giratina was now looming over the fallen jackal 'mon, his spiked tail pinning her against the foggy grass. _

_"Would you mind if I killed her, Dialga? As I killed your sister? Would you even care?"_

_"Why...?" Dialga heard himself asking, not realizing that the words had even left his mouth. "Why did you kill Palkia..."_

_"_That_ is not of your concern," Giratina sneered, mocking Dialga's earlier outburst. _

_The time dragon gritted his teeth, his tail once again beginning to lash back and forth as he felt his anger beginning to rise. How _dare_ Giratina mock him, kill Palkia, and hurt Shan?! Eyes narrowing, Dialga began to concentrate, the blue diamond embedded within his chest plate beginning to glow as he focused upon charging a Roar of Time attack -- only to lose concentration when the Renegade Pokémon gave a rather ear-piercing screech of pain before he began to writhe, his serpentine body twisting and turning uncontrollably, and Dialga feared for Shan's safety, since she was still lying unconscious right next to the ghastly dragon. Dialga furrowed his brow when Giratina began to _flicker_ as if he were nothing but an image created by a Psychic or another Ghost-type, before he disappeared entirely, a long, drawn-out shriek of pain the only remnant of his existence before it too was lost within the thick fog._

_"That... was not the real Giratina?" Dialga asked aloud, talking to no one in particular as he continued to stare, dumbfounded, at the air where the other dragon had disappeared, before he remembered the pale she-Lucario still lying in the fog-damp grass. "Shan!" He started to go to her, only to be knocked off his feet when the ground underneath him suddenly heaved upward, as if a monstrous Steelix had decided to emerge from the ground right underneath him. Around him, the moor appeared to be... warping... for lack of a better term, and Dialga wondered just _what_ in Arceus's name was going on before he felt himself beginning to lose consciousness, his world going black..._

* * *

A gasp left Dialga as his eyes flew open, and he quickly sat up before he slowly began to look around, blinking in order to help his currently bleary eyesight to adjust to the darkness. Wait... it was dark? "Wh-where...?"

"Welcome back to the realm of the awake," came a low, gravelly voice to his left, and Dialga turned his head, his eyes falling upon Tanaka. "You and Shan really had us worried, and if not for Isto's wonderful scouting abilities, we may never have found you, and you'd still be trapped within that Mismagius's dreamworld."

"Dream... world...?" Dialga replied groggily, raising a paw to set it against his forehead, only to look up when a groan came from close beside him, and the dragon-Lucario couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief at seeing Shan stirring where she lay close to him. "Shan..."

"Huh...?" the she-Lucario mumbled, blinking before she shook her head to reorient herself, her eyes widening before she quickly sat up. "Shit! The dry-kindling! W-we've got to get it back to camp!" she yelped, forcing herself to her feet before she frantically began gathering up the sticks of wood. Ignoring his rapidly manifesting headache, Dialga moved to set a paw upon her shoulder, the touch causing the she-jackal to calm down though Dialga himself had to fight to hold back a sigh of disappointment at noticing by the shape of his paw that he was once again within his Lucario form. So, it had all been nothing but some horrific dream. Then that meant that Palkia was still alive! At least, he hoped that she was, anyway...

"Easy, now," Shera soothed, moving to gently take the sticks from the gray Lucario. "I'll get the kindling. You and Dialga need to get some proper rest," she said as she moved to gather the rest of the kindling from where it was scattered around where Shan and Dialga had fallen to the effects of the Confuse Ray earlier that evening.

"Just... _what_ caused the nightmares?" Dialga asked, letting Shan translate for him, but it was Isto who answered as she hopped over to them.

"Oy, it was a very _annoying_ Mismagius who calls herself 'Banshee'," the 'krow explained, shivering. "And wait till you hear this: Shera _captured_ her!"

Even though he was still shaken from the nightmare, Dialga couldn't help but allow himself a smirk at Shan's rather priceless expression.

"You're _kidding_."


	11. Carpe Diem

_Author's note: Wow, the story has taken a _complete_ turn from what I had originally planned because this chapter pretty much ended up writing itself thanks in part to my writing muse pretty much usurping my surge of creativity. As for the name of this chapter, I normally don't use words from a different language, but I felt that 'carpe diem', Latin for seize the day, suited this chapter. Also, this chapter has my theory on why Dialga fought Palkia during the Rise of Darkrai, and there are **major** spoilers from that movie in this chapter as well. Originally, the main focus of this chapter was going to happen a few more chapters down the road, but then the Banshee chapter turned into that arc, and since I only have twenty-two chapters planned for this story, I felt that chapter fifteen (when it originally was going to be chapter twelve) was too late for the serious TimeAurashipping to finally happen, so, it happens now. If you guys think that it's too early, let me know and I will take this chapter down and rewrite it._

_As always, Pokémon is © to that wonderful mastermind, Satoshi Tajiri._

_Special thanks go out to my best friend, Ayaluki, the best beta-reader I could ever ask for._

* * *

During normal circumstances, the water dragoness would usually be sound asleep, but ever since Dialga had been exiled to that 'Sinnoh' place, Palkia had been plagued by sporadic bouts of insomnia from constantly worrying about the well-being of her only brother. The Spatial Pokémon gave vent to a soft sigh as she sat back, her tail twitching slightly as she tried to relax. Palkia had asked her father to teach her the scrying spell he had used to show her what had become of Dialga, and though Arceus had been reluctant at first, in the end he had agreed to his eldest daughter's request.

The dragoness took a deep breath, holding it in for a moment before she slowly exhaled. This was the first time she would be performing the spell without her father's guidance, and it would be the first time she would be using it to check up on her brother. The other times she had practiced, under Arceus's supervision, she had focused upon Lake Valor, a place rather than an actual living being. Ignoring the fact that it felt like her insides were tying themselves into little knots of anxiety, Palkia flexed her clawed hands before she softly exhaled, her breath, in the form of silver mist, escaping from her mouth before it began to swirl and form into an elliptical shape.

Palkia's brow creased slightly when she noticed that the mist was still a bit thin, but she pushed herself on, the maroon pearls upon her shoulders and her eyes flashing a light pink as she completed the spell, and she smiled faintly when she saw the mist take on the same color, before the surface rippled, revealing an image of a forest clearing, and the dragoness was barely able to suppress a trill of joy at the sight of a familiar dark-colored Lucario sitting upon a fallen log. Palkia arched a brow when she saw a second Lucario seated next to him, but she recognized the figure as the pale gray Lucario she had seen before in her father's version of the scrying spell. Keeping herself quiet, the space dragon settled down to watch the two...

* * *

"So, _why_ did you drag me away from camp again?" Shan grumbled irritably, raising a forepaw to brush her forelock out of her eyes before being caught by a wide yawn, her pinkish tongue curling before her jaws snapped shut with a barely audible click. "I'm not exactly a night owl, you know..."

Nearly a month had passed since the ordeal, and though insomnia wasn't something that normally bothered him, Dialga found himself unable to sleep, too afraid of reliving the... _nightmare_... he and Shan had gone through in Banshee's dreamworld. Shan and Isto had been the only two still awake aside from himself, but the dark avian had been assigned to night watch, and was currently perched high in one of the tall pines situated at the edge of the campsite.

Even though Dialga was grateful to Isto for defeating Banshee, he wasn't quite sure he would be able to trust her with all the things he wished to finally allow out into the open. In truth, the _only_ one he felt comfortable at all trusting was the she-Lucario currently sitting beside him upon the large fallen log they had chosen to use as a place for this exchange. From the tone in her voice, Dialga could tell that Shan was still in a sour mood over realizing that her aura was still corrupted. Losing something so important, regaining it (though for an instant) only to lose it _once again_ must have been quite frustrating for her indeed. Though his abilities weren't truly gone, in a way Dialga understood how she felt. He always felt quite restricted while in his Lucario form, as the only special abilities in his arsenal he still had access to were Metal Claw and Protect, and the fact that his ability to manipulate and control time in _both_ forms had been severely restricted by his father.

"Because I need to speak with you," came his reply before he took a deep breath and exhaled, his tail twitching uneasily behind him, stirring up pieces of rotting wood. "Shan, I... I am afraid that I have not been completely honest with you."

"What do you mean?" Shan asked, her ears flattening slightly as she tilted her head to one side. "Is it something so terrible that you can't share it with everyone else? Not that I'd trust Banshee, but still..."

Dialga refused to look at her, his eyes falling closed as he readied himself, even though he felt like he had swallowed hot lead. His chest hurt, and he had a feeling that he knew why... that he was afraid Shan would turn her back on him once he told her everything...

"When you and I were trapped within that horrible nightmare, I... I saw something else that terrified me beyond anything..."

"What was it?" he heard her ask, and he felt her place a forepaw upon the steel ring that encircled his right shoulder.

Another deep breath. "Palkia, my older sister... I... I saw her _die_... right before my eyes..." he whispered, his voice not wanting to work.

"Lord Dialga, I... I don't know what to say..." came Shan's voice, and by her soft tone he could tell that she was quite surprised at what he had told her. And he knew that he was _far_ from being finished. "I want to say that I'm sorry, but I don't think that's hardly even enough, but... but look on the bright side, it wasn't real..."

"I know it was not, and I am glad, but since I am in exile, I am unable to contact her, and that is beyond frustrating," he replied, sniffling once. "And there is no need for you to apologize, Shan... Believe me, you will not want to after I am finished..."

"Wh-what do you mean? Why wouldn't I want to apologize to you?"

"It would be for the best if I were to start from the very beginning," he began to explain, forcing himself to speak. "There is a very good reason why my father exiled me..."

He went rigid when he felt her paw leave his shoulder, but when he felt a gentle touch against the middle of his back, he allowed himself to relax, though only slightly. He wanted to look at her, but he couldn't muster up even a single ounce of courage to do so. After everything they had gone through since their first meeting back at the Spear Pillar, Dialga realized that his feelings for Shan had gone _beyond_ those of mere friendship. She had always been there for him, even back when he had treated her so terribly, and, even now, he still wondered why she had chosen to put up with him back then... why she loved him. Dialga knew that to tell her that the stories that portrayed him as a noble and heroic being of legend were nothing but lies would most likely destroy her, and that was something he would rather _not_ have the misfortune of doing, but if he didn't tell her the truth _now_, he knew that he would never find such courage to do so again.

It was now or never.

"My father exiled me because... because..." He swallowed hard. "_I_ _came close to killing Palkia_... I came close to killing _my own sister_..."

He saw Shan gasp, her ears slicking back against her skull as she raised her free paw to cover her muzzle.

"But... _why_ would you try to do something so... _horrible_?" she asked after a moment's hesitation.

"I have an... ability that allows me to see into either the past or future, and I decided to..." He trailed off before giving vent to a deep sigh. "I decided to look forward, into my own future. And what I saw terrified me to no end, drove me to the point of _madness_... What I saw... Wh-what I saw was my own capture by that human your trainer calls 'Cyrus'... Palkia tried to comfort me, but I was too upset to accept her help, and so... I... attacked her... She refused to fight back, and she would only use her own abilities to nullify my own attacks or to slow me down without hurting me..." The dragon-Lucario sniffled, raising a forepaw to wipe tears away from his eyes. "I ended up chasing her halfway across our dimension before she tried to flee to another, and she ended up pulling a human dwelling place back into our dimension instead..."

Dialga had to stop in order to recollect his bearings, but when he felt her beginning to slowly rub his back with her paw, he began to feel slightly better. He was thankful to Shan for her patience, though his earlier fear of her possibly turning away from him once his explanation was finished still loomed at the back of his mind. After a few more minutes of trying to regain his composure, the deity continued:

"Yet still I tried to hurt her, even with so many mortal lives at stake. As it turned out, there was another Legend who lived among the humans, a creature known as Darkrai... His efforts to protect the humans and their home was valiant, but we were too much for him... Palkia's reasons for lashing out at him were out of self-defense, and, I suppose, frustration from me trying to kill her... My reasons for lashing out at Darkrai were due to my induced madness... We... ... killed him..."

"Dialga..." Shan whispered, not speaking that 'Lord' title she usually used when addressing him. Personally, Dialga _disliked_ being addressed by such formality because he felt that it was keeping the two of them apart despite how much they had been through together, but he was hesitant of telling her in fear of offending her. He squeezed his eyes shut, fighting hard to keep from breaking down and sobbing. It hurt _so damn much_ to remember all this, but he knew that he had to finish. Sighing, he raised a paw to rub his forehead, before he took a deep breath and resumed his story:

"We almost ended up destroying the humans and their dwelling place as well, but something stopped us... It is _very_ hard to describe, and I wish that you could have seen it, but whatever it was... It was _beautiful_... And it was enough to free my mind of the madness my vision had brought onto me... I was so upset once I had come to my senses... so _disgusted_ with myself that I could only murmur an apology to my sister before I left... but, in the eyes of my father, a mere apology apparently was not enough... I suppose my encounter with the real Giratina shortly after my fight with Palkia was also part of my punishment, I do not know, but it certainly felt like it _was_... He did _everything_ in his power to kill me, but somehow... somehow... I got away from him... I did not want to fight him... I just wanted to go home... But then that damned Cyrus human captured me, and now, here I am... In an exile that I realize I deserve..."

"So, that's why you were so afraid of the one we encountered in that dreamworld of Banshee's," Shan murmured, shivering. "I don't blame you for being terrified of Giratina after what happened. Hell, I'd hate to run into the real deal after what a mere _conjuration_ almost did to us..."

The dragon-Lucario gave a slight nod before he got to his feet and moved a few steps away, his head lowered.

"Now you know everything... And I understand if you do not wish to speak to or even _look_ at me anymore... I am not a hero, Shan... I am a coward... I am a _monster_... And I am sorry... for _everything_..."

"No, you're _not_!" came Shan's voice, and Dialga's ears pricked when he heard her light footsteps on the ground, their sound indicating that she was moving toward and not away from him, before he felt a pair of arms slide themselves around his shoulders, and he went rigid for the second time that night when the she-Lucario pulled him close to her in a tight hug. "You're not a monster, Lord Dialga, and you have no reason to be sorry for anything that's happened between us! If you were such a terrible creature, would you have taken me to see Lady Mesprit when my aura first became corrupted?"

"No, I would not have..." he whispered, refusing to look at her even as she held him. "I would not have cared..."

"Exactly! We all do things we're not proud of. I _hated_ Shera before I learned that I could trust her; remember when I told you that?"

"Yes, but--"

"_No_! No 'buts', Lord Dialga!" she said, cutting him off, and the time creature felt a paw against one side of his face, slight pressure forcing him to turn his head to where he was now face to face with Shan. She was crying, but her eyes held solid determination within them as they locked with his own before the female Pokémon shook her head. "I'll always see you as a hero no matter what you tell me. I've always looked up to you and I always will... And I admit that it hurt me deeply when you yelled at me back home in Eterna City when we first met, but I understood why you were so upset. It's not possible to be all sunshine and rainbows after going through the hell you did, so I didn't blame you for lashing out at me like that, but I admit that I _did_ have doubts about you, but _only_ because I couldn't help but be upset at you for treating me that way when all I wanted to do was see if you were all right. I will _never_ believe that you are a monster. I'm grateful -- _honored_ -- that you trust me with such personal information about yourself when you just could have kept it to yourself."

He merely stood there, unable to come up with a plausible response to everything she had just told him, a mirror of how she made him feel the day he met her. She was like Palkia, yet she was so different from his older sister... Before he could stop it, the metaphorical dam holding back all of his emotions suddenly broke, and Dialga buried his face against the side of Shan's neck, quiet sobs wracking his borrowed form as he clutched at her, feeling the she-Lucario holding him closer as she rested her head against his, one paw rubbing his back as she murmured words of comfort to him. It seemed like an eternity before Dialga felt even remotely calm enough to slowly raise his head, his sobs having faded to soft sniffling.

"Are you all right?" Shan whispered, sniffling a little herself as she released him, but the slowness of her action told him that she was reluctant to do so. She had shed tears with him, and he didn't know if he should have been worried or grateful.

"I... needed that..." he whispered, his voice still not wanting to work for him. He fell silent, considering something for a long, drawn-out moment before he pulled her against him, his cheek sliding against hers in a draconic gesture of affection. "Thank you, Shan. Thank you so much -- for everything..."

Now it was Shan's turn to be left completely dumbfounded. She felt every inch of her body going rigid with surprise when the time god pulled her against him, but the auraless Pokémon made no move to return the hug; even though her mind wanted to, her body absolutely refused to obey the silent command. This was almost _too_ perfect, and Shan was afraid that this was nothing more than a dream. This was the opportunity she had been waiting for, dream or not, to tell Dialga how she truly felt about him, but her voice refused to work. She held back a sigh of frustration, wishing she had some way of getting over her fear of how he would react to three certain words, until she remembered something Shera would always say before every Contest and gym battle:

_Carpe diem_... Seize the day...

"I'm sorry that I never got around to finishing what I had wanted to tell you when we were trapped in the dreamworld. And I'm ashamed to admit that... it's been something I've been keeping from you for a while now..." Shan said, her voice trembling despite her best efforts to control it. She took a deep breath and exhaled, feeling a shiver crawl down her spine when Dialga pulled back slightly, his ruby-red eyes capturing her own.

"I had forgotten about that," he replied, his voice soft even though he arched a brow. "What was it?"

'_Carpe diem, Shan... No turning back now...!_' her mind warned, and Shan felt her body beginning to tremble just as her voice had.

"What I wanted to say was..." She trailed off, silently repeating the phrase over and over again in her mind to keep herself from breaking out of the deity's grasp and bolting from the clearing, her tail giving a few wags of anxiety. "What... I wanted to say... was that... that I... I love you..."

The silence that followed her confession was _agonizing_, and Shan so badly wanted to squeeze her eyes shut, but she found herself trapped by Dialga's ruby gaze, and she resisted the near overwhelming urge to fidget as she awaited his reaction. She blinked when she felt slight movement coming from him, and it took her a moment to realize that Dialga was _laughing_! Shan was about to snap out an angry reply, but his next words caused her own words to die within her throat.

"I know," he murmured. "I have always known your little secret ever since that day at Lake Verity."

"_Mesprit_!" Shan gasped, her ears flattening as she put two and two together. "But... she _promised_ she wouldn't tell anybody else..."

"It was a complete accident on her part, Shan," he said, his voice taking on a stern edge before once again regaining the softness that seemed so unnatural for him. "Please do not be so cross with her, but I admit that it _did_ catch me completely off-guard when she told me."

"Oh..." Shan muttered, looking down. "I bet you must have thought it was ridiculous..."

"I did at the time, I am ashamed to admit," he replied, and Shan felt a paw slide underneath her bottom jaw before her head was gently forced up. "But now -- after everything you and I have been through together -- I realize that my feelings for you are mutual..."

The pale Lucario wanted to cry out for joy as she felt her spirits soar, but she kept herself quiet, smiling up at the deity as she slowly closed the distance between them. Despite the fact that she wasn't entirely sure of how to proceed, Shan tilted her head to one side before she pressed her lips against his, gently at first, her arms sliding around his shoulders as she closed her eyes. Having been raised by humans ever since the day of her birth, she couldn't help but add a little of their influence into her response...

Dialga's eyes widened considerably, and he went completely rigid, confused by Shan's downright _strange_ action and wondering just what in the world she was doing. It didn't hurt, but it just felt so... odd... though pleasant in the same instant. The gesture didn't last too long, ending when he was beginning to grow used to it, and Shan was blushing when she pulled back, a barely audible "Sorry..." leaving her. Dialga opened his mouth to reassure her that it was all right, but was distracted by a light breeze that chose that moment to blow through the clearing, and the dragon-Lucario closed his eyes, resting his head against Shan's as he held her close and allowed himself to enjoy the moment. The caress of the light breeze through his fur and clothing added to the euphoria of it all, and he found himself wishing that his control over time hadn't been restricted, so he could relive this moment at least once more...

The Hall of Origin

Palkia couldn't help but smile as the image within the silvery-pinkish ellipse faded before the mist itself began to dissipate into nothingness. Had her personality been more like Mesprit's, the space dragon would have given vent to a fierce giggle right about now; however, worry was mixed in with the pride she felt for her little brother. Though she was happy that he had fallen in love, it was with a mortal Pokémon, and Palkia knew that the pale Lucario would grow old and eventually die while Dialga himself would remain forever unchanged... _timeless_. That, she knew, would hurt him, and she also worried about how Arceus would react once he caught wind of thi--

"Palkia? Why are you awake at this hour, my child?"

Holding back a squeak of surprise, the dragoness flailed her arms in front of her, trying to get rid of the remnants of her scrying spell before, her arms behind her back, she quickly turned to face the qilin 'mon as he stood there, patiently waiting for her to answer him.

"I could not sleep," she replied, inwardly wincing at the half-lie she was spinning. "I will be all right, do not worry, but I just cannot stop thinking about Dialga..."

"I am sure that he is doing well, Palkia," Arceus replied, smiling at her with his eyes. "And if it will help to ease your worry for him, I shall contact him sometime tomorrow."

"Thank you, Father," the Spatial Pokémon replied softly, watching the equine as he turned to leave. Her mind begged her to tell Arceus what she had seen, but Palkia was afraid of angering her brother yet again if he were to _ever_ learn that she had chosen to involve herself within his private business even though she knew it was wrong of her to do so. But was self-preservation worth more than her brother's mental well-being? No, it was not. She was the eldest of Arceus's five children, and she had to watch out for the well-being of her little sisters and only brother.

"Father," she called, holding a clawed hand out to him. "Wait! There is... something I need to tell you..."

Lake Verity Cavern -- That Same Night

"Ugh! I forgot how damn _boring_ it is waiting to fall back asleep," Mesprit grumbled, counting water drops as they dripped down from a nearby stalactite and into a moderately large puddle of water. "Twenty-three... twenty-four..." '_I wonder how lover boy is doing?_' she thought with a smirk as she remembered Dialga's golden reaction when Mesprit had accidentally allowed the fact concerning Shan's love for him to slip out into the open before. '_I wonder if he ever got Shan to tell--_' "Waaah!?"

She yelped, flitting up into the air when an Air Cutter attack struck the stalagmite she had been resting against, her thoughts about her big brother and his _friend_ interrupted. The little Lake Spirit whirled about to face the culprit, coming practically face to face with a Golbat as it hovered nearby, its eyes narrowing dangerously before it launched a second Air Cutter towards her.

"Hey, this is _my_ cavern!" Mesprit snarled irritably, her twin tails lashing back and forth. "Go get your own!"

"I'm not after a home," the bat said, his voice high and screechy. "Master wants _you_, little Mesprit."

'_Master? What-- No... oh no... _NO_... Not _them_ again! I thought Shera got rid of them...!_' she thought, golden-yellow eyes wide as she glanced about, searching for signs of the green-haired humans. Though she couldn't see them, she could _sense_ their negative emotions, and the little Psychic knew that she just _had_ to get out of there and warn Shera about what was happening. Could Uxie and Azelf have already been recaptured?! Not wasting time, Mesprit fought back, catching the Golbat off-guard with a Confusion attack and sending him slamming into the nearest stalactite. She hadn't intended on resorting to such crude measures, but she had to keep the creature at bay, and the Emotion Pokémon wasted no time in speeding through the cavern, weaving in and out among the rock formations as she kept her sights upon the cavern entrance.

'_Almost there... Just a few more feet-- OW!!_' Her thoughts were interrupted for the second time in a span of a few minutes when Mesprit felt herself suddenly slamming into something hard, the force of the blow sending her tumbling to the cavern floor. She glanced up to see the air in front of the entrance ripple, and it was then that the little pixie realized that some kind of barrier had been placed there. Shouts of "Get it!" came to her ears, and before Mesprit could regain enough of her bearings to teleport away, she felt a pair of hands roughly grabbing her, before something was placed around her neck. She struggled, seeing the faces of two Galactic humans smirking down at her before she was shoved into something clear, the _click!_ of something being shut coming from above her.

"Radio the Boss," one of the grunts said before he removed a red and white sphere from his belt and recalled the currently confused Golbat. "Let him know that we have the Emotion Pokémon so preparations can be made to snag that little pain in the neck, Azelf."

"Why_ are you doing this?! Did you not learn your lesson the first time around?!"_ Mesprit cried into their minds, eliciting a snort of laughter from one grunt before the other answered her, though her words were quite vague:

"Oh, you'll see."

With a whimper of defeat, Mesprit curled up at the bottom of her container, hot tears rolling down her face as she focused all of her energy into a mental cry consisting of a single word... a name...

'_**DIALGA!!**_'

* * *

The dragon-Lucario suddenly inhaled through clenched teeth, his eyes squeezing themselves shut as he raised a paw to rest it against one side of his head, his ears slicking back. Aside from the brief moment of pain, there had been a voice calling... screaming... his name...

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Shan asked, trying her best to keep Dialga steady as the deity shook his head, blinking a few times before he focused his attention upon her.

"It... it was nothing..." he said, unsure of what had just happened, though he couldn't help but glance over his shoulder towards where he knew Lake Verity lay, far from their current location. The scream had sounded like Mesprit, but that couldn't have been possible... could it? 'What_ is going on?! Mesprit! Mesprit...?_' he thought, trying to reach out to her even though he knew that his own mental abilities were weak, since he wasn't a true Psychic. There was no answer, and Dialga decided to dismiss it as another of his little sister's games, though there was an underlying reluctance to his gesture. "... Nothing at all," he continued, turning his head and giving Shan a faint though reassuring smile before he placed an arm around her waist. "Come, let us return to camp..."

* * *

_Secondary note: Okay, is it even anatomically possible for two Lucarios to kiss? O.o Ah well, I decided to add that since Shan was raised by humans her entire life and all._


	12. Author's Note

I really hate to do this, but I'm going to have to put Timeless on hiatus for a while... I haven't been in the best of moods lately due to the backlash of hurricane Ike that swept through Ohio and other circumstances which I'm not in liberty to speak of... I promise that I won't let this turn into the perment hiatus which struck my other multi-chaptered story from another fandom, but I really don't know for sure when I'll be able to write again...

-- Chaos


	13. The Final Ribbon 1: Friends and Foes

_Author's Note: First off, I want to apologize for not having updated this story in over a year, but to be frank, I was in dire need of a vacation from this fic because my life had turned into absolute hell, and there was a span of time where I ended up fearing for my life. But, things are much better now, and I've been working on recovering, and I'm going to try and finally finish Timeless, because I've honestly been meaning to even if it doesn't seem like it. _

_I'm finally able to work on the next chapter, but I went back and revised a few things in this one because a few of my reviewers pointed out things that crippled the original version of this chapter, and I decided to take their suggestions to heart, so, thanks, guys!_

_Here is a list of the major revisions I made in this chapter:_

_**1) **__I've given Nico's condition explanation this time around, since in the original version, there wasn't much of it, and this led to someof my reviewers thinking that she's completely blind, which isn't true. I also felt bad for this since Nico's character belongs to my best friend, so I wanted to go back and correct this and to give the character better establishment in the story._

_**2)**__ I've given an explanation of why Honchkrow decides against going to the authorities or to powerful trainers like Cynthia or the Elite Four. This comes at the end of the chapter; however, since I wasn't able to smoothly fit it into the beginning._

_**3)**__ Shan's Lopunny rival has undergone a gender change, and is now a male named Cyrano rather than a female named Bridget. I decided on this since one of my reviewers pointed out to me that male Lopunnies are largely underrepresented in this fandom, and due to the fact that it would add another dynamic to the rivalry between him and Shan since Shan's a female Lucario. If you want my honest opinion, Lopunny really should've been a Fighting-type instead of a Normal-type. :/_

_**4)** In regards to Miranda, I feel I should give an explanation to why she acts the way she does for her age. It's because she's based off somebody I knew (and hated) back during the early 2000's who was a decade older than me and who acted immature and childish for her age.  
_

_As always, Pokémon is © to that wonderful mastermind, Satoshi Tajiri. _

_Special thanks go out to my best friend, Ayaluki, the best beta-reader I could ever ask for. The human character, Nicole 'Nico' Ramsey, and her Pokémon team, some of who make their debut in this chapter, belong to my best friend and are used with her permission. Enjoy!_

* * *

Kami Island - Galactic Base - The Previous Night

Tonight was one instance where he was thankful for knowing how to trip the release mechanism on his poké ball. Honchkrow held back a sigh as he perched upon the sill of one of the large, curtainless windows in the base. Cyrus and the others were asleep, but Honchkrow knew that he needed to be as quiet as possible since his master was a light sleeper _and_ because the man hated it whenever the dark bird would free himself from his red and white container. Tonight, Honchkrow had a reason for needing to be out and about, for there were things upon his mind - which had been ever since _that_ day upon Mt. Coronet's Spear Pillar...

"_**Honchkrow, stop! This isn't right...**_"

The bird would have frowned if his beak were built to allow such range of physical emotion, hearing the canid's words echoing inside his mind. Right... wrong... was there even a difference any more?

"What's wrong with me...?" he whispered softly, his gaze upon the night sky. "Lord Darkrai, _please_, tell me what to do..."

At that moment, a meteorite chose to streak across the sky, and the Big Boss Pokémon's eyes widened as he watched it. Now, he realized he knew what he had to do. For a while now, he had known his master was batshit insane, but fear had kept him from trying to do anything or even from speaking out, even though he knew that the blue-haired human couldn't understand him. Now, however, Honchkrow knew that he had been given a chance to make things right again, and after casting one last glance out the window with a silent thanks to the Pitch Black Pokémon he worshipped as a deity, the dark bird took wing and went off in search of a way out of the facility.

One way or another, he would find the red-haired girl and her she-Lucario, and he would do the best he could to warn them of the renewed danger his master was posing not only to them, but to the entirety of life as they knew it...

The Following Morning...

"There it is!"

"And we've still got a day before the Contest, perfect."

"Yeah, but _why_ did we have to make it to Sunyshore on the hottest day of the year?"

"Eh, call it karma."

Dialga stood back, watching the four female Pokémon as they chatted amongst themselves, reminding him of his sisters. He kept his attention upon Banshee for a few moments, still surprised that the Mismagius had turned out to be so different than the horrible dreamworlds she could create. In reality, the Mismagius was a friendly soul, almost child-like in personality and a very inexperienced fighter (according to Isto), whose loneliness and wish to find other creatures to 'play' with had led her to creating said dreamworlds in order to keep them from getting away. The Ghost-type had promptly apologized to Shan and Dialga the day following her capture, but the dragon-Lucario still found it hard to trust her. Banshee's voice tended to take on a rather screechy tone whenever she would yell, become angry or excited, hence her name. She had also taken a complete interest in Contests, and during her first day as part of Shera's team, she had watched Shan and River practice a Contest battle with undivided interest. With Shan's help as a translator, Shera had taken heed of Banshee's wanting to perform, and the two had begun training ever since then. The Ghost-type's enthusiasm and will to work hard had helped her progress regarding the appeal routine she had been working on with Shera, and the Mismagius would be making what the other female 'mon called 'her debut' in this Contest which would be taking place tomorrow.

"I just hope we'll be able to get to the shoreline soon," River grumbled. "I swear, I'm going to dry out if we stay here any longer..."

Unable to help the smirk spreading across his muzzle at the green and blue seaslug's grouchy tone, Dialga allowed his gaze to rest upon her for a moment, before allowing it to rest upon Isto, and then, finally, upon Shan.

The dragon-Lucario's smirk settled into a gentle smile as he stood silently watching the pale-furred she-jackal. She was everything to him, as dear to him as his own family, and thanks to his newfound relationship with Shan, in a way, Dialga was beginning to see Shera and her little troupe of 'mon as _his_ family here within this world. Though it wasn't the same as being around his father and sisters, it helped to dull the ache inside his heart, and the time creature knew that he would do anything to keep them safe. He had begun speaking more often to the other Pokémon, and had even helped Zaratan in regaining his lost confidence concerning performing in Contests, though the Torterra wanted to wait before trying again in order to give Banshee a chance to perform this time around.

"Ready, everybody?" came Shera's voice as she held up five of the six spheres she kept on her belt. "Return."

Fives beams, three red, one bluish-white, and one purplish-black, struck and recalled everyone but Shan and Dialga, leaving the two out with Shera. After the girl clipped her poké balls back onto her belt, she moved to retrieve her rucksack, which had been propped up against a nearby tree; however, the human moved to crouch in front of it first, and appeared to be digging around inside for a few moments before she pulled something dark out of it and moved to sling the bag over one shoulder. Dialga tilted his head slightly to one side when the human came towards him, holding what looked like some sort of cloth before she stopped about a foot from him before kneeling down to where she was closer to his height.

"You've been doing a good job keeping a low profile back home in Eterna City since we live on the outskirts, but Sunyshore's a lot larger and since we're going to be around the interior, I wanted to let you have this," she said as she held up the cloth for him to look at. "It's my old rain poncho from when I was a little girl, and I thought that it would help you to hide your diamond since there are probably people here who would recognize you even though you're in this form."

The dragon-Lucario's brow furrowed as he studied the poncho, which was black in color, for a few moments before he bowed his head, allowing her to slip it over his shoulders. He gave a nod of thanks as he moved to adjust the cloth, and despite its restrictive appearance, it was actually quite comfortable and hardly impeded his range of movement.

"It looks great on you," Shan said, falling in step beside him as they began to follow Shera towards the outskirts of Sunyshore City. "But don't you think you should wait to put it on till we're near civilization? Black doesn't exactly reflect heat and sunlight, you know..."

"It is no big deal at all, Shan," he replied. "I prefer dark colors to light ones. Neither the heat nor the star you refer to as 'the sun' bother me, and..." He couldn't help the smile that spread across his muzzle at that moment. "I thank you for the compliment."

* * *

"I tell ya, Gym Leader or not, that Volkner guy's _got_ to be whacked in the head if he keeps doing things that keep causing blackouts for this city," Isto said before she paused to peck at the bowl of Pokémon food that had been set in front of her. "And that Flint guy who you told me about doesn't sound too sane either. I mean, who in their right mind would give themselves such a ridiculous looking hairdo in the first place? Humans..."

Shan rolled her eyes, but the action was accompanied by a smile. "But if he's bored, then he has to do _something_, right?"

"Humans _are_ quite strange, I agree," Dialga said, fighting the urge to wrinkle his nose at the sight of the half-eaten sandwich sitting on the plate in front of Shan. Movement out of the corners of his eyes caused him to rest his gaze upon a mostly brown Flying-type with a long crest of red feathers who was busily sneaking up behind the Honchkrow. The dragon furrowed his brow, but remained silent when the other bird raised a feather to its beak in a 'Shh!' motion.

"But making everybody else here live without the things they need?" Isto replied. "That's kinda rude, don't ya... What's everybody staring at? Is there something on my beak?"

"BOO!"

"Whaaah!" Isto cawed, a few black and red feathers being shaken loose from her wings when she jumped and awkwardly turned to face whoever had dared to scare her. "Why I oughta- Aahh! Aquila! Is that really you?"

From the expression on its face, the Pidgeotto would have smirked if its beak would have allowed for it, and when it spoke, the pitch of voice told Dialga that the avian was female. "Hey, Isto, it's been a while. My, you've really... er... filled out, haven't you?"

"Heh! You're not exactly thin yourself, missy."

"Want to make something of it?"

Shan chuckled and shook her head. "Hey, Aquila, I'm guessing you're here for the Contest, too?"

"Shan? Is that really you, Shan?" The Bird Pokémon tilted her head to one side and squinted. "The last time I saw you, you were still a tiny Riolu, and, no, I'm not, but Edanna and Yuki are. Nico's done pretty well here even though she doesn't compete in Contests as much as she does in gym battles. She may only have two ribbons, but this contest_ is _open to anybody with two or more ribbons despite being the last one for the year before the Grand Festival, right? She's participating in order to see how tough opponents can be this late in the game, so to say."

"Yeah, it's me, believe it or not, and that's understandable," Shan said, though the competitive tone in her voice made Dialga arch a brow. "But Shera's not going to just lie down and lose, even though they're friends."

"Why wouldn't I believe it? I think it's wonderful that you two have evolved, but it's just a blast poking fun at Isto. And who's this?" Aquila blinked when her gaze fell on Dialga, who felt slightly offended that even though the Pidgeotto had known he was there, it had taken her this long to finally acknowledge his presence.

"Eh-heh-heh-heh! It's just a blast poking fun at Isto!" The 'krow grumbled irritably before she and Shan exchanged a glance, eyes wide before Isto spoke again only to squawk when the she-Lucario elbowed her in the side. "And him? Oh, that's Dia-OW! Shan, that hurt!"

"I don't think _Dia_ would appreciate it if you gave away his full name, Isto..." the pale-furred jackal 'mon hissed through clenched teeth before she gave vent to a nervous giggle as her gaze fell upon Dialga. "Isn't that _right_, Dia?"

'_… Dia? Palkia used to call me that back when we were dragonlings..._' "… Yes, that is... exactly right..." the time being replied, though not without shooting the dark bird a warning glance.

"So, where are Shera and Nico anyway? They should've been back by now," Isto said, glancing about at the rest of the Pokémon Center's interior before she gave voice to a series of happy caws. A few months ago, Dialga would have rolled his eyes at the Big Boss Pokémon's display, but he had begun to understand more and more about how tame Pokémon behaved, and he knew that seeing one's trainer again even after only a few hours was like seeing heaven. He couldn't help but arch a brow at the human who was walking beside Shera, however, but the way the two girls were conversing helped him to realize that this newcomer was a friend and not a foe, and that she must be this 'Nico' that the females were talking about.

Small and skinny in build, this new human had straight, raven black hair that fell to her waist and skin the color of brown sugar. She was clad in a baggy blue t-shirt, mostly hidden underneath the solid black jacket, and matching this jacket was a pair of black cargo pants and a pair of black and red trainers which, from their fairly ragged appearance, were an old pair. A rucksack was slung over one shoulder, and in one hand she held a long, thin white cane, which apparently she used to help her movement; however, in her other hand was something long and yellow, the other end attached to something around the neck of the large Persian who was walking alongside the human girl.

Dialga furrowed his brow as question after question began bubbling to the surface of his mind. There was something wrong with Nico, he could sense it, but... _what_? Only when Shan caught him with a glance he read as 'I'll explain everything to you later, I promise.' did he push all his questions about the dark-skinned human to the back of his mind, though he didn't take his attention off the two humans even as they continued nearing the table. He saw Banshee floating next to Shera's left, and the Mismagius looked pretty happy about something.

"I'm impressed with how far Banshee's come since you caught her only a month ago," Nico said as she and the redhead slid into the booth opposite the one Shan and Dialga were sitting in. The dragon-Lucario fought the urge to wedge himself farther into the inside corner than he already was since being around so many new faces still made him uncomfortable. "And the seal she picked out for her performance in the appeals round tomorrow will be a big help to her."

"What seal?" Isto and Aquila both asked in unison, but the Ghost-type only smirked at them from where she hovered over the humans' booth.

"I really want to show you, but you'll just have to wait till tomorrow," the ghost said, waggling one end of her cloak back and forth like a finger.

"I bet it was the pink heart, wasn't it?" Isto asked, a hint of laughter causing her voice to waver a bit when Banshee made a face.

"Ick! No! As I said: you'll see it for yourselves tomorrow in the Contest!"

"Well, if it's as dreary looking as you are, then you should reconsider your choice," came a new voice, which was male in pitch, though it held a slightly feminine undertone. Dialga heard Shan give vent to a low, throaty growl, her ears slicked back against her skull. The dragon-Lucario followed her angry gaze to see that the speaker had been a Lopunny, and a rather pale, dark-haired human female was standing nearby. The woman appeared to be a considerable number of years older than both Shera and Nico, and she was dressed in a long-sleeved, midnight blue blazer with light tan dress pants and a pair of shoes which did not appear to be those suited for traveling on foot. Her dark, curly black hair was kept unbound and fell slightly passed her shoulders, a few locks falling over her right shoulder.

"_Excuse me_? Who gave you permission to barge in uninvited anyway?" Banshee snapped as the two newcomers stopped a foot or so away from the booth. From the tension thick in the air, Dialga had a feeling that this Lopunny and his trainer were _not_ well received by his friends.

"Back down, Cyrano," the pale-skinned human said, holding up a hand before her dark eyes narrowed as they fell upon the group. "Mm... I should have known that you would be here, Garland. I take it that you still don't have five ribbons?" A smirk spread across her lips as her gaze fell to rest upon Nico, and Dialga narrowed his eyes when he saw the girl lower her gaze to her lap at the next sentence which came from the older human: "And they should really have a more strict regulation considering _who_ they allow to enter, since this _is_ the final contest before the Grand Festival."

"Stow it, Miranda, Nico's a wonderful trainer despite her condition," Shera said, tension within her voice. "And if _you're_ here, then you probably lack your final ribbon as well."

"You're more observant than I thought," came the reply as the older woman moved to brush her hair back over her shoulder. "And shutting _you_ out from proceeding to the Grand Festival will be a reward all its own. Come, Cyrano, let us not waste time with such a rabble. Only the truly gifted have the right to gain their fifth ribbon."

"It's going to be an absolute _pleasure_ defeating you again, my dear Shan. One victory that I'll be certain to savor come tomorrow, that is if your undead friend there can help you advance to the battle round," the lapine 'mon said before he blew the Lucario a kiss, smirking at the look of revulsion upon her face before he turned and hopped off after his trainer.

"I'm not hungry anymore..." Shan grumbled, using one paw to push her plate away before she slid down off the bench and headed for the Center's exit. Dialga's ears twitched when he heard Isto give vent to a worried sigh before the Honchkrow flew off after her friend.

"Crap, I really hate to cut this short, but Shan's in a snit," Shera said, moving to recall Banshee back to her heal ball before the red-haired girl climbed up and over the back of the booth and into the empty one behind her before hopping down onto the floor and giving Nico an apologetic look. "She does this whenever she's upset and it worries me, especially in a large, crowded place like this. I know Isto's with her, but I'd rather not let them wander around without my supervision."

"That's quite all right," came the other girl's soft reply as she gave her friend a reassuring smile. "I need to have my insulin shot, so I'll be all right here in the center since Tarja and Aquila are with me, and it doesn't sound like it's that crowded right now, anyway. Your Pokémon need your company right now more than I do, after all."

'_Insulin?_' The dragon-Lucario's brow furrowed at his unvoiced question. '_What is 'insulin'?_'

Dialga stiffened for a moment when Nico's dark gaze fell upon him, but he relaxed a bit when he heard her speak again: "And it was a pleasure meeting you, Dia. Shera's told me everything about you, and I promise that your secret is safe with me."

The time creature gave a slow blink of disbelief, his mind trying to process what the human girl had just told him before he gave a slow nod. He couldn't help but smirk slightly at Aquila's look of confusion as the Pidgeotto looked back and forth between the two of them a few times before giving vent to a deep sigh of resignation. Dialga had to scramble out of the booth, though he took extra care in preventing his poncho from getting snagged on anything as he hurried to catch up to Shera, who was a few steps away from the main doors of the Pokémon Center by now. Though he was annoyed at the fact that she hadn't bothered to wait for him, he understood her sense of urgency regarding the whereabouts of Shan and Isto, and even though he was unable to verbally reply to the apology the redhead gave him, he did give her a nod of acceptance before the two of them moved off to begin their search.

* * *

"Don't let Cyrano get ya down, Shan," Isto said, reaching out to pat the she-Lucario's shoulder, albeit awkwardly. "He's nothing but a stupid half-shaven bouncing powder-puff."

"At least _you_ don't have to deal with him constantly rubbing your past loss in your face," Shan snapped, a heavy sigh leaving her as she grasped the middle bar of the railing. "Cyrano Strover and his trainer are two of the rudest, snobbiest, snootiest souls I've _ever _had the misfortune of meeting in my whole damn life!"

"He took advantage of the fact that, well, that your temper is... how do I put this?... more easily kindled than you allow others to believe, y'know? Leeches like him do that, so the 'victory' wasn't a true one at all... Er... That didn't help at all, did it..." The Honchkrow sweatdropped when she realized that the gray-furred Lucario's somber expression wasn't changing, and she had to fight the squawk of surprise at the sudden sound of somebody clearing their throat coming from somewhere exactly to her left; however, the bird couldn't stop the full-body flinch which voiced her reaction instead.

"Sorry," came Dialga's soft murmur, and Shan squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to fight back the tears of anger which were stinging at the corners of her eyes. His presence was one that she _didn't_ wish to feel at the moment, not when she was in such an upset state of mind. Though she had shed tears with him the night he had told her the truth about himself, Shan didn't ever want to cry alone around him, but something deep down told her that her foolish, self-made promise would end up being broken.

"I'll... uh... leave you two alone for a while, maybe you can calm her down," came Isto's voice, which was followed by the unmistakable _whoosh!_ of air as the dark bird's wings lifted her into the air. "And I'll try to coax Shera into waiting at the bottom floor of this lighthouse thingamajig."

'_Isto, no, please don't leave...!_' the jackal 'mon thought desperately, and she went rigid when she felt something come to rest upon her left shoulder, followed by Dialga's soft murmuring request for her to look at him. The she-Lucario paused, hesitating for a few long minutes before she finally, though slowly, turned her head to look at him, her tears still threatening to fall as she met his ruby gaze. Though it still sounded odd to hear him speak at such soft intervals, Shan was getting used to it, and concerning how damn _frightening_ Dialga could get whenever he was angry, the fact that the time dragon used such a soft tone _only_ with Shan made her believe that it was a well earned privilege.

"I admit that I am not knowledgeable when it comes to comforting others, but I am concerned for your current state of being," he said, tilting his head slightly to one side. "May I ask what about that encounter has you so upset?"

"The last time I faced Cyrano in a Contest battle, I... I lost, Lord Dialga..." she replied, her tone thick with a mix of anger and shame. "I, a _Fighting-type_, lost... LOST... to Cyrano... a damn _Normal-type_! It was back before we had all evolved, and even though I wasn't as sickly as I had been in the beginning, I'll never be able to live the Canalave Contest down _ever_... I wanted so badly to prove my worth to Shera and to put that damn Strover human in her place that I... I got overconfident... I was too sloppy because that damn powder-puff kept taunting me to fuel my rage, and I'd forgotten to make my attacks look beautiful as well as showing off their power... and it ended up costing us the Canalave Ribbon..."

"And you are afraid of history repeating itself, correct?"

"I hate to admit it, but yeah, I am. I'm _very_ scared of what could happen come tomorrow." She paused to give vent to a heavy sigh as she lent all her weight against the metal railing, her upper body slumping in defeat. "To the point where I almost hope that Banshee's appeal routine _won't_ earn us passage to the battle round... I was supposed to be in the appeal round, but then this whole mess concerning my aura goes and happens, and now... I'm _so scared_ of letting _everyone_ down tomorrow, Dialga... so damn scared..."

"Shan, please, try not to think about it so much," the dragon-Lucario replied, moving to mirror her movements sans the defeated posturing. He lent his head towards her as he tried to peer into her face before he continued speaking. "I know you are afraid of what could happen tomorrow, but try not to be so pessimistic about it. And before you say anything, I know that is hard, believe me. Before I met you, I was, as you mortals say, 'down in the dumps' for the longest time after what happened between my older sister and myself. I let my anger rule over my logic and we both remember what _that_ led up to. I am not saying you will end up in exile yourself, but I just do not want you to lose any sleep over this whole stupid matter. Those two mortals are _not_ worth all this upset, Shan. Not. At. All."

"You don't know Cyrano," Shan snapped, turning her head to meet his gaze, wine-red eyes blazing with the remnants of her anger, though the calmer tone of her voice telling Dialga that he was getting through to her. "If you think Jupiter and Mars were bitches. Hah. Cyrano makes those two look _tame_ in comparison even though he and his human don't go around trying to help a madman try to destroy the world. One can be a bitch or bastard in different ways, Lord Dialga, and it doesn't always have to involve stealing Pokémon and making things go boom. Just striving to make somebody else's life a living hell _whenever you see them_ is just as bad, if not worse."

"I understand that," Dialga replied, his voice dropping to a low, gentle murmur as he continued trying to comfort her, and he raised a paw to gently set it against one side of the pale she-Lucario's face. "I just don't like seeing you so upset, Shan. I want you to know that those of us who love and care for you will be there tomorrow to pick you up if you happen to fall. Even if he beats you again, he won't have any friends there supporting him. In the end, it is _you_ who shall be the victor, _not_ that ugly excuse for a fellow Pokémon, no matter which one of you ends up earning that silly little trinket."

"It's called a 'Ribbon', _not_ a 'silly little trinket'," Shan replied, moving to place a paw over his. "And it's Shera's ticket to the Grand Festival. This Contest is our last shot at getting her there until _next year_. I can't help but fret over this despite your words of encouragement because of that fact. I'll try not to worry myself out of a decent amount of sleep tonight, but I can't guarantee that I'll be fully rested come tomorrow, but I'm going to try my damnedest to get as much as I can."

"Indeed, I will be sure to remember the proper term for it. And, as you mortals like to say, 'I will be cheering for you'." He trailed off, a smile spreading across his muzzle as his ruby eyes met her own. "Little Lucario."

Shan stared at him for a long, drawn-out moment, mouth half-open in a mix of shock and of her trying desperately to come up with a retort. Instead, the she-Lucario pulled away from him, feigning upset for a moment before the smile she'd been fighting to hide broke through her mock-glare, and Shan snuggled against the time creature, her head against his shoulder.

Dialga felt himself go rigid for a few seconds at Shan's sudden display of affection, the hot feel of his cheeks telling him that he was blushing. He allowed himself to smile down at her, glad that Isto was gone, before he relaxed and slipped an arm around the pale-furred jackal's waist and held her close.

The two canids remained this way, content to watch the nearby hustle and bustle of humans and fellow Pokémon as they went about their daily lives, and the sound of the waves crashing against the nearby beach added a calming effect to it all. Still, Dialga's questions concerning Nico were bugging him, and though he hated to break the serenity of the moment, he knew that his curiosity would devour him from muzzle to tail if he didn't try asking Shan about her human friend _now_.

"About Nico..."

"Hmm?"

"You said you would tell me about her condition later, and, well," Dialga gave voice to a soft chuckle at what he was about to say, "it _is_ later."

Shan reluctantly raised her head from where it had been resting against his shoulder, and though she was amused that Dialga was using mortal expressions of speech, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of discomfort at having to speak about Nico's condition without the girl's approval.

"She's ill, Lord Dialga," Shan said softly, bracing her forepaws against the railing as she moved to lean against it, her gaze focusing upon the horizon.

"Ill? As in sick with a disease?"

Shan nodded, a soft sigh leaving her as her ears and tail drooped.

"She has type 1 diabetes, and it's left her almost completely blind and drastically underweight because it wasn't diagnosed early."

"I... see..." the time creature murmured softly. "But how is she able to, erm, participate if she is mostly blind?"

"She can still see a little. That includes colors, but only ones that are bright and dark, so she can distinguish some visuals associated with attacks. She's come up with some absolutely stunning visual appeals in past Contests by combining dark colors and bright colors for maximum contrast."

"Before I left, she mentioned something called 'insulin' to Shera. Do you know what that is?"

"I can't give you a detailed description since I'm not a doctor, but insulin is something she needs, or she'll become extremely ill again."

"I admire that she will not let her condition drag her down, determination is a trait I admire in humans and fellow Pokémon alike," the dragon-Lucario replied, a soft smile spreading across his muzzle for a moment. "I like her."

"I do, too. She's been a good friend to Shera, and she even traveled with us for a little while before the whole Team Galactic fiasco went down..." Shan trailed off, a yawn suddenly gripping her. "Sorry about that."

"It is all right, Shan. Come, it grows late, and you have a big day tomorrow," he said softly, raising a paw to stroke her cheek, and he felt the beginnings of another blush when Shan moved to grasp his paw in hers, though the gesture was a clumsy one at best. He made no move to pull his own away, and paw in paw, the two jackals left the roof of the lighthouse.

* * *

_For the first time since the beginning of his exile, Dialga awoke to find himself once again upon the transparent, glass-like floor of the Hall of Origin rather than in the hotel room where he had fallen asleep. As with the last time his spirit had been summoned here to where he was born, Dialga was once again in his true form._

_"Father, have you brought me home to speak to me about my... ... exile?" the time dragon asked, keeping his gaze upon the floor as he remained knelt there with one foreleg folded under him._

_"You may rise, Time Keeper," came the Original One's reply, and Dialga did as he was asked, slowly rising to his feet before he raised his head to rest his gaze upon the qilin 'mon. "And as for your question, no, I did not summon you here regarding your exile. The request for your summons was from-"_

'Summons from someone other than my father?' _Dialga immediately thought about Mesprit, but at the sound of a voice crying his name and the feel of two arms wrapping themselves around the base of his neck, it all became clear to him, and his greatest fear was finally quelled._

_"Your sister," Arceus finished, smiling with his eyes before he fell silent in order to keep from disturbing the reunion of his two eldest children; however, the Alpha Pokémon couldn't help the knot of worry building within his chest. Dialga disliked others intervening when it came to his privacy, and from what Palkia had told Arceus, she had used the scrying spell to check up on her brother, and she had ended up eavesdropping on a conversation between the Temporal Pokémon and one of the mortals he was living with for the duration of his exile._

_"Palkia!" Dialga cried, having to take a small step back to keep himself and his older sibling from crashing to the floor of the Hall. "You... you live!"_

_"Last time I checked, yes, I was alive," the Spatial Pokémon replied, unable to help but arch a questioning eyeridge at her younger brother's words. "And I still am. I have missed you, little brother."_

_"I missed you, too," he replied, nuzzling his head against hers since he couldn't really return her hug without fear of losing his balance. "In a nightmare I had before, you... died... before my very eyes..."_

_Palkia remained silent for a few long moments, turning his words over in her mind before she held him close, one clawed hand beginning to gently rub the younger dragon between the shoulder blades, like she used to do back when they were little. "Nightmares cannot hurt us, remember? No matter how frightening or real they may appear to be."_

_"I know, sister, but I could not help but worry about you. I am very relieved to know that you are alive and well."_

_"...You probably will not think the same after what I have to tell you, unfortunately," came his sibling's reply, the hint of fear in her voice making him remember their fight before this had all began. And he blinked in confusion when Palkia moved away from him, her ivory wings fluttering a bit before once again folding against her back. "Dialga, little brother, I... I am sorry... but I... I know about you and that mortal Lucario, what was her name? Shan?"_

_"Yes, that is correct, but... _how_?" Dialga replied, unable to help the irritated tone in his voice. Before his exile, he would have snarled at her for invading his privacy, but now, he was more calm and more patient than the hotheaded beast he had been back then even though the hint of irritation was still there. He was unable to help the frown that spread across his features, however, when the dragoness took a few more steps back in order to put more distance between herself and Dialga. "Palkia... I promise that I will not lash out at you, I am not the same as that..._ thing_... who attacked you out of madness before..."_

_"I admit that her knowledge of such a private exchange is my fault," the equine spoke up, stepping closer to his son before he moved to rest his head against the time dragon's shoulder for a few long moments in an unvoiced apology. "She asked me to teach her that scrying spell of mine because she was so worried about you. While I am proud of the progress you have made, I cannot help but worry about the eventual outcome of such an attachment. Love comes in many different bonds, my son, but the bond which you have formed with that mortal is dangerous."_

_"I know that, father," Dialga replied, moving to rest his head against Arceus's for a moment before the qilin pulled away and began to pace, though it was more out of worry than out of disapproval. "I remember who I am and I know that she will age and, one day... die... while I will live on until the end of all things. I am prepared for that, so there is no need for you to wo-"_

_"I am afraid that it is not that simple, child," Arceus said quickly, halting in his pacing to look between his two eldest children. "Love is a very complicated emotion, and it is also very dangerous to the point to where it can blind one's judgement. You may think that you are prepared to face the death of your loved one, but no, you are not. Even if you learn of the day she is fated to leave the mortal coil, you know that you are _not_ allowed to interfere."_

_"Do you really think I would do something that drastic just for... one mortal?" the time dragon replied, inwardly flinching at referring to Shan by something other than her name, and he took a moment to meet his older sister's ruby gaze at the end of his next sentence. "I know the limitations of my abilities just as Palkia knows hers."_

_"Dia," the space dragoness said, catching the dark-scaled dragon off-guard. "I know you're upset with me for what I did, but I am happy for you, truly. I just do not want you getting hurt, especially not after all the progress you have made regarding learning how to control your temper." He felt himself smiling at the childhood nickname even as he listened to her words, and only when she was finished did he finally speak._

_"I know, Sister, and though I am disappointed in you for eavesdropping like you did, I know that it was for the best, and you were right to tell Father about Shan and myself." The time dragon turned his gaze to meet that of his father before continuing. "Even if you had contacted me to tell me that I was allowed to come home, I cannot, at least not yet. Shan needs me because there are important things she must deal with that she cannot face alone, and I vowed to myself that I would do my best to aid her."_

_"Good luck, little brother," Palkia murmured, closing the distance between them as she moved to give him a second hug. "But, please, be careful."_

_"I had a feeling that you were going to say that," the equine 'mon said, his voice soft. "And though you've made considerable progress, I feel that it is still too early to lift your exile. I respect your wish to help your loved one, and while I am worried for your well-being should anything happen, I will not forbid you to love her since I do not wish to interfere directly within the lives of my children. It is time for you to awaken, and I will leave you with this piece of advice, my son: follow your heart."_

* * *

Dialga's eyes snapped open before he sat bolt upright, blinking a few times as he gazed confusedly around the hotel room where he was staying before he remembered everything that had happened before his father's summons. From the dark, star-filled sky outside the huge windows, Dialga saw that it was still night outside, but he had a feeling that dawn would be approaching in a few hours, and once everything was ready, the so-called 'Contest' that Shan and Shera were both entering. It was at that moment when the Alpha Pokémon's departing words chose to ring through Dialga's mind, and with a soft sigh, the dragon-Lucario took a moment to glance down at himself before allowing his head to fall back against the couch cushion. Even though Arceus felt that Dialga wasn't ready to return home, the time creature was thankful that he was allowed to stay with the one he loved for a while longer.

'_I suppose I have come a long way from the beginning of my exile,_' he thought as he turned onto his side, pulling the cushion he was using as a pillow closer to him as he settled down to stare out the window at the starry sky. Palkia was alive, and though she had eavesdropped on him back when he and Shan had realized their true feelings for one another, Dialga's love for his older sister overrode his anger for once. '_If I am going to be cheering for Shan and her human tomorrow, then I need to get more rest._'

Kami Island - Galactic Base Docks

Honchkrow knew that even though dawn would break soon, he would have to move quickly in order to keep from being seen by the few grunts who were out and about at this hour, readying the small cargo ship for departure to Sunyshore City. He had done well in avoiding detection whilst escaping from the base itself by following one of the grunts who was carrying a few boxes filled with Darkrai knows what down to the cargo vessel. The dark bird had a feeling that the boxes were filled with some odds and ends for that stupid 'Game Corner' the organization still ran in Veilstone City, but ever since they had been forced to abandon the base they had there, supply flow had slowed to a mere trickle since they had to send them from here at Kami Island to Sunyshore first, before they were finally shipped up to Veilstone since that city was landlocked.

The Big Boss Pokémon took a few moments to rest behind one of the large wooden tethers that stuck up from the dock like wicked needles, and he froze at the sound of footsteps telling him that somebody else was walking along the dock, and his eyes widened considerably when he recognized the voice when the footsteps stopped.

"I take it preparations are going as planned?"

'_Mars!_' Honchkrow fought to hold back a gasp as he pressed himself farther against the tether, not caring that the rim of his fedora was slipping over his eyes.'Please_, Darkrai, don't let that damned Purugly of hers be out and about..._'

"Y-yes, Commander, th-the TMs for the Game Corner a-are all l-loaded and r-r-ready to go, and the t-team assigned t-to stop off at Lake Valor to c-capture Azelf are already on b-board."

"Excellent, I'll be certain to inform Master Cyrus of your flawless progress," came Mars's voice again before the sound of her footsteps began again, before they paused for a few seconds. "Go on ahead and cast off, Azelf's as good as captured if your little vessel is able to make as good time as you have preparing it." With that, the footsteps began again, and Honchkrow took a second to readjust his fedora before he cautiously peered out from behind his hiding spot to watch the red-haired woman as she headed back towards the base, and he felt relief flood over him when he saw that the woman was alone as she opened the door of the base and disappeared inside, the door closing behind her.

It was that stupid, _stupid_ feline of hers who would always squeal on Honchkrow the other times he had let himself out of his prison without his master's permission, and so far, all he had received for it had been scoldings and no food for the duration of a few days - sometimes even longer - before the blue-haired human would finally decide to feed him again. Honchkrow hated these punishments, and this had been the first time in months that he had gone against the rules laid down by his master, and though he knew that this time his punishment would be_ far _more severe than being starved for a few days, the avian no longer cared about what the crazy human thought.

He took a moment to cast a look of hatred down at the metal band that encircled his right leg, the golden 'G' branding him as nothing but a criminal. Because of this, he knew that there was _no way _he'd be able to go to anyone else but the Lucario and her trainer, since even though it probably wasn't by much, he had faith that they wouldn't capture him and turn him over to the authorities.

"Get ready to cast off!" came a shout, followed by the blare of the cargo ship's horn, the volume of the sudden noise nearly causing Honchkrow to jump out of his feathers. The dark bird readjusted his position in order to peer out at the boat, and he waited until everyone was below deck before he took off from his hiding spot and landed onboard before jamming himself in amongst the cargo boxes that were tied down on the deck, before he settled down to wait out the voyage.


End file.
